


A Beacon of Light

by delypanda



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-05-08 05:51:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14687826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delypanda/pseuds/delypanda
Summary: A family with a secret. A girl with her own secret. What happens when two worlds collide? A tale of learning to love yourself, and to enjoy life no matter how many lemons are thrown at you. Emmett/oc





	1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Nothing from Stephanie Meyer is mine. I don't own sparkly vampires.** _

* * *

" _The people that actually try to stay in your life are the only ones you ever need."_

* * *

"What?!" A yell broke through the chattering of the cafeteria, followed almost instantaneously by a loud crash, causing the eyes of all students in the vicinity to dart towards that table where two girls were at. One of them, a blonde, was standing with her hands on the table – apparently, she had stood up so fast her chair had clattered to the floor hence, the loud bang.

"Sorry." She cringed, quickly righting her chair and flashing an apologetic smile to the people sitting at the neighboring table before turning to her tablemate. She demanded in a hushed whisper-shout. "You're moving? Where? Why?"

"I'll tell you everything, Tiff. Just calm down!" The other girl, a brunette, glared at her.

"No! I can't, Lori!" She hissed, hands flying about agitatedly. "We were supposed to go to prom together! You're abandoning me?!"

Lori winced. "Yeah, about that, sorry. Really."

"Sorry?! You-!" Tiffany huffed, before collapsing onto the table, burying her face in her arms.

The brunette's blue eyes nearly popped out of her head. Didn't she know just how dirty their school's cafeteria tables were? Who knew what had been dropped there and god knows how often they were cleaned.

"Tiff, don't be a butt." Lori sighed, crossing her arms. "And do you know how  _dirty_  these tables are? You're going to have a breakout."

The blonde snarled.

_Well, okay. Grumpy much?_

However, this tantrum was something Lori had expected. Her best friend had just had a particularly bad breakup with a cheating ass of a boyfriend who was going to go to prom with his new armcandy. Bastard. Tiffany had been counting on her to be her 'buffer' there. Though, for the life of her, Lori couldn't understand why her friend wouldn't just not go to prom but apparently, it was important for her to keep up the image that she was doing fine and not hung up over him.

"Look, I'm sorry, alright? But we're doing it for our mother."

Forgetful, a little naïve, childish and fickle-minded. Renee Dwyer, Lori's lovely mother, that she and her sister, Bella, took care of more than she took care of them. Make no mistake, Renee was their mother and they loved her, but she wasn't really the best mother material.

But she loved her two daughters wholeheartedly. And that's what mattered the most.

Every time Phil, their minor league baseball player step-dad, left for a game – and it wasn't seldom – it was like Renee crumpled in on herself, bringing an aura of gloom wherever she went. The two sisters honestly couldn't take seeing their mother mope around the house like someone had kicked her puppy and then set it on fire just for kicks. Renee had said she was fine, that she couldn't leave them alone but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

Therefore, Bella and Lori, being the kind and loving daughters that they were, offered to go stay with their father in the small town of Forks near Seattle so that Renee could go traipsing around the world with Phil. Renee had of course, claimed that they didn't need to and that she was alright staying behind with them, but Lori could already see the beginning of a spark in her eyes at the idea. Lori really didn't want to hold her mother back from being with Phil when it clearly made her happy.

Staring at the blonde's figure slumped over the table, Lori knew that Tiffany knew that too. She had been invited over to the Dwyer residence enough to know just how much Renee missed Phil. It was unmissable.

"Prom's on a Friday night, isn't it? Don't go – screw Jackson – why don't you drive down to Forks for the weekend instead? I'm sure my dad wouldn't mind."

"Really? You think so?" Tiffany peeked at the brunette sitting opposite her over her arms.

"Yeah, I know so." Lori grinned. "C'mon, we'll have a girly sleepover. No boy talk. We'll paint our nails, watch sappy movies, binge on ice cream, all that. It'll be fun."

"Okay." She snorted, wagging her pinky finger in her friend's face. "You better not forget about me once you're there."

Lori wouldn't. She always treated her friends well, and Tiffany was a friend to be treasured. Someone who knew the dreadfulness of being alone in a place full of people, would never abandon a friend unless they were the one abandoned first.

"Pinky promise." Lori laughed, linking her finger with Tiffany's. Her pleasant smile widened. "If I break it, you can cut my finger off."

"That's gross." Tiffany cringed, shying away from her friend. "You watch too many yakuza movies. What would I do with your finger anyway?"

"Frame it? Bury it? 'Here lies Lorraine Grace Swan's little finger, as a lesson to never break your promises'."

It wasn't clear who gave in first, but both girls burst into laughter at the same time.

"I'll miss you, Lori." Tiffany smiled sadly.

"I'll miss you too, Tiff."

* * *

Apart from leaving behind her friends, Lori wasn't as bummed as Bella was to be moving to Forks. Of all the places to move to, she thought Forks was a pretty alright place. The colder weather there was definitely more to her taste than the sweltering Phoenix heat, having always preferred being cold and freezing to being hot and sweating. And as a fortunate bonus, her favorite leather jackets and boots would finally be able to see the light of day. Lovingly taking them out from where they had been stuffed into the back of her closet, she folded them into her suitcase. She already couldn't wait to try them out.

As far as small towns went, it wouldn't make much of a difference in her lifestyle. Except that people there might be nosier, since she doubted that many people moved in instead of leaving the town. Any new face would be immediately noticed. Well, she wasn't planning on doing  _anything_  outside of her room anyway.

There was a series of loud thumps, startling Lori and sending her to the doorway of her room to see what the matter was. She paused, taking in the sight before her.

"..What are you doing?" Lori eyed her fraternal twin sister, older by six minutes, weirdly.

The girl was sat awkwardly on the floor, holding her foot in hand, before the steps leading downstairs. She wouldn't even look up at Lori, clearly embarrassed at whatever mishap had happened. There was no need to be embarrassed though. The whole town was probably well aware of what a klutz the older Swan was.

"I was trying to bring my bags down but I slippedanddroppeditonmytoe.."

"Come again? I didn't quite hear that last part."

"I said, I slipped and dropped it on my toe!" Bella didn't have to look up to know that her younger sister was trying hard – and failing – to hold back her laughter. It was very obvious in her teasing tone.

Lori couldn't help but laugh as her sister stared forlornly at the suitcase burst open at the bottom of the stairs, clothes lying everywhere. It was a look she knew very well, having seen it for years. It was the one that said Bella was lamenting the existence of her two left feet, and her complete inability to do anything gracefully.

"Stay right there, Bells! Don't want you hurting yourself more or mom won't let us move to Forks." She darted back into her room to grab her own suitcase, wheeling it out to where Bella was still sat at the top of the stairs, because she might as well only make one trip down the stairs instead of down to pack Bella's things and then back up for her own bags.

Bella pursed her lips, mood taking a downturn at the mention of the small town.

"Is your foot alright? Does it hurt badly?"

She took her eyes off Lori to scrutinize her foot. There was a red blotch on the bridge of her foot spreading to her toes certain to become a great big ugly bruise the next day. She inhaled sharply when she accidentally brushed too hard against the tender skin, but nothing was starting to swell and her ankle didn't hurt either.

"Just a bruise, I think. Lori?" Bella frowned, looking around when she didn't see her.

"What?" She called up the stairs, already starting on folding the last quarter of her older sister's clothes back into the bag. "Just a bruise? That's good!"

Bella furrowed her brows, confused. She was just up here, how did she carry such a heavy bag down the stairs so quickly? And she didn't remember hearing any sounds of the wheels of the suitcase clacking against the wooden stairs either.

"Bella? What's wrong?"

"No, nothing." Lori must have been stronger than Bella thought she was.

* * *

Standing before the departure hall at the airport, the four of them made a typical picture of a mother and her husband sending off their children. Amused father, nearly hysterical with worry mother, one amused daughter and one miserably resigned but trying not to let it show daughter.

"Girls, are you sure you want to do this? Are you really sure?"

The two girls shared a glance before turning back to their mother.

"Yeah." Bella shifted, fingers picking at her jacket in her arms.

"Yes, mom. We're sure. Seriously. The tickets are booked, Dad's ready for us, and we're already here. How many more times are you going to ask us that?" Lori huffed in an exasperated manner, but the fond smile on her face told a different story.

"Hey, don't talk to your mother like that." Phil stared down at her sternly but his eyes were twinkling, and he immediately gave up the facade when she stuck her tongue out at him. He made a grab for her tongue, hand darting forward in a flash, causing her to squeal and dart behind her mother for protection. Not that Renee was much of shield, being roughly the same height as both her daughters.

"That's criminal." Lori grumbled, giving the three of them a good laugh at her disgusted scowl. "Mom, he's bullying your daughter."

"Oh, I can't believe you're really going to go." Renee's voice was nearly a whimper, and Phil affectionately drew her into a side hug, stroking his hand down her head a few times for good measure.

"Mom,  _we're_   _fine_. I want to go."

Lori almost snorted. The expression on Bella's face was more of a grimace than a smile, but apparently, it was believable enough for Renee and Phil to not notice. She still couldn't understand why Bella didn't like Forks so much. Yes, it was as much of a small town as it could be; no big malls, lesser people, everyone knew everybody, and simply put, there was nothing much to do there but it wasn't as though Bella was a very outgoing person that needed the hype of city life. In fact, Bella couldn't stand any sort of attention at all. If anything, she would have thought that it would be better for Bella there.

"Call – no, what am I thinking? You're both  _teenagers_ , you won't want to call your mom everyday-"

"Renee, don't worry. Charlie will take care of them and if he's too busy, Lori will take care of Bella." Phil chortled at Bella's indignant 'Hey!'. "In any case, they'll be alright. Now, scoot, or you'll miss your flight." He gave the two them rough pats on the head before ushering them along.

"I love you girls!" Renee cried, waving.

"Love you too, mom." The sisters chorused together, sharing a smile at their unintended synchronization.

Spotting Bella's melancholy expression as they watched their view of their parents get swallowed up by the crowd as they went further into the airport, Lori gave her a nudge.

"C'mon, Bells! Lighten up! I'm sure Forks will be better than what you think it is!" Linking their arms together – half in a show of camaraderie, half to make sure Bella didn't trip over herself or get lost – she tugged Bella along. Beaming at her older twin, her smile widened when she saw that Bella's lips tilted up in a small smile in return.

_Yes, Lori had a feeling that everything would turn out better than fine in Forks._

* * *

Bella blanched at the sight before her.

After disembarking the plane, they had found Charlie waiting for them at the arrival hall. He hadn't changed at all, Lori thought fondly. Same old moustache. Same old stern face – though he was really just a gruff teddy bear. They had exchanged greetings and pleasantries as they rolled their suitcases to the carpark. Lori had to stifle a giggle more than once at the stilted way the other two tried to talk.

Lori tried not to be surprised though she could tell Bella was horrified at the police cruiser sitting in front of them. She had kind of expected it because Charlie was the Chief of Police after all but at the same time, she hadn't expected it.

"How did you manage to handle these suitcases?" Charlie grunted as he heaved them into the boot of his car. "They're not as heavy as I expected but they're still too heavy for you girls to carry."

Oblivious, Charlie carried on while the two stunned girls stopped in their tracks.

"Bella can't, of course." Lori flicked her gaze from watching Charlie struggle to Bella, wagging her eyebrows at her. She had to jump to the side to dodge a halfhearted swat.

"Yeah, Lori did most of the hard carrying."

She grinned at the smile playing on Bella's lips, glad that her playing around had helped to ease the awkward air between father and daughter. The two of them were much too alike in their personalities. Maybe that's why they were never able to bond too well, both being natural conversation killers. But she had an inkling that sometimes, her upbeat personality put her father at a lost too. He was too awkward to continue the conversation, not knowing how to react. At times, she wondered, how did the awkward young adult Charlie manage to date and marry young exuberant Renee?

Lori watched as their father's gaze swept over her slight frame – nearly identical to Bella's; pale and slim, looking like she never did a day of exercise in her life – in response to Bella's statement. He didn't say anything but the disbelief in his gaze was obvious. She just knew what he was thinking.  _Where in the world are those muscles hidden in such a skinny body?_

"Right here, dad. Right here." Drawing her sleeves up, Lori flexed her biceps, whistling lowly as she did so. "Look at th-"

"Stop that!" Bella hissed, pulling Lori's arm back down, eyes darting around as though to check whether her younger sister's ridiculous display had attracted any eyes to them. The attention-grabbing cruiser was already more than she wanted to handle. She didn't need to deal with Lori's antics as well. "Let's just go." She huffed, pushing Lori towards the car.

"Alright, alright. Stop pushing." Noticing the rising telltale flush on Bella's cheeks, she decided to give her sister a break and got into the passenger seat.

And so, the police car carrying the Chief and his daughters drove away towards Forks.

After a while of staring out the window watching the scenery – trees, trees, and more trees – flash past, Charlie's voice broke the silence.

"You," He started, before clearing his throat. "Your hair, Bells, it's longer."

There was a slight questioning lilt to his voice, as though he didn't really know what to talk about but was grasping at straws anyway, choosing hair as the topic probably because they were females.

Lori, admiring the courage he had have to pluck up to start a conversation with his teenage daughters he hadn't seen in a few years, hoped with all her heart that Bella would reply nicely but she was stuck in a dilemma. She knew Bella had actually cut her hair but she didn't want her to shut him down so quickly and hurt his feelings when he was being so brave. Mind whirling, she chanced a look backwards to see how Bella was going to reply, only to meet the same deer-caught-in-headlights look from Bella.

"I cut it since the last time I saw you." She blurted out, before recoiling back into her seat at seeing Lori's glare.

"Oh. I guess it grew out again."

Lori cringed, thumping her forehead against the window. What kind of conversation was this? This was going to be bad for her heart.

But at the very least, crisis adverted.

And then, Charlie spoke again. "I found a good car – you two will have to share – but it's really cheap."

Lori kept silent, turning her head to quirk an eyebrow at Bella in the backseat.

"What kind of car?"

She could hear the half-suspicious half-interested tone in Bella's voice. It didn't really matter what car it was though since she probably wouldn't get to drive it unless necessary. She'd be just sitting in it relaxed for 99 percent of the time. Beyond the basic knowledge of engine capacity and brands, Lori didn't really know anything about cars. That was more of Bella's forte. Who knows what kind of car Bella was expecting in this small town though.

"Well, it's a truck, actually. A Chevy."

"A truck?" Lori echoed. She'd never driven a truck before. Was there any difference in driving a truck and a car? She hoped she wouldn't dent or scratch the truck but it was probably inevitable. She already dreaded the thought of driving. Driving their car back in Phoenix had already given her the reputation of being a bad driver – Lori had ultimately been banned from driving alone and Bella had been unofficially appointed chauffeur after a particularly bad incident involving the car looking like a bandito wrap around a pillar. She didn't know how it had happened either. How was she to handle a truck when she couldn't handle a normal saloon car?

"Where did you get it from?" Bella questioned.

"Do you remember Billy Black down at the Rez, La Push?"

"No."

"Vaguely." Lori hummed. "Something about fishing and mud pies."

Charlie shot an appreciative glance at Lori, before glancing inquisitively at Bella. "Yeah, he used to go fishing with us in the summer before. You really don't remember?"

At her blank stare, Charlie continued on. "Well, he's in a wheelchair now-"

"What?" Lori gasped. "How is he?"

"He's fine, used to it already but anyway, he can't drive anymore and offered to sell me his truck cheap."

"What year is it?" Bella asked, but Lori knew she most likely wouldn't like the answer. A truck that Billy drove. Well, it must be pretty old.

"Billy's done a lot of work on the engine, so it's only a few years old, really." It was clear that he was trying to dodge the question but Bella wouldn't give up.

"When did he buy it?"

Charlie sighed, appearing to have given up when Bella was that relentless in getting the information out of him. "1984, I think."

"Was it new, then?"

"In the early sixties, or late fifties, at the earliest." He admitted. The look on his face was so sheepish Lori could have burst out laughing. Watching Bella wrangle information out of the Police Chief was so much more interesting than the 'you cut your hair?' conversation. At Bella's dubious look he caught in the rearview mirror, he hurried to reassure her. "Really, they don't build them like that anymore. The truck runs great."

"How cheap is cheap?" Her tone was flat and Lori knew that she was trying to find out if there was a way she could reject the truck without being rude.

"..The thing is," He started hesitantly. "I already bought it. As a homecoming gift."

Lori saw Bella's expression and quickly cut in, well aware that she tended to unintentionally put her foot in her mouth more often than not, speaking before thinking it through. "That's nice of you, dad! Bella?"

The girl reluctantly agreed, unable to argue now, staring sullenly out of the window. "Yeah, thanks, I really appreciate it."

Charlie mumbled out something that sounded like 'you're welcome', a similar blush spreading on his cheeks faintly.

Lori snickered. One thing she was glad for, was that she seemed to have not inherited the famous – infamous? – telltale blush. She wanted to call him out on it, but she figured that if she did, the man would probably explode and then, they'd all end up in a car crash. It would be the first time she managed to cause an accident while not in the driver's seat.

"So, dad, how's Billy doing now?"

The man seemed happy to get a topic he was comfortable with, and the rest of the ride was filled with his low tone regaling them with the stories of his friends from the Rez.

* * *

The house the cruiser pulled up in front of was small and homely-looking. The wooden siding was painted white, and the two-story building was surrounded by greenery; trees and forest to the back, and bushes to both sides. Lori found that she already loved just the sight of it.

"Right, there're only two and a half bedrooms. I assumed you both would want a room to yourselves so I cleared out my study. One of you will have to settle for the smaller room. And there's only one bath so we'll have to share." Charlie explained to the two girls studying the house. "You two go ahead and choose. I'll bring the bags up."

"Thanks, dad." Lori grinned, before cackling as she ran into the house. "First come first serve, Bells!"

"Lori!" Bella cried, before following her twin, stumbling slightly on the driveway.

Smiling to himself as he popped open the trunk, Charlie was looking forward to living with his two daughters. Already, it was much livelier than it was before, filled with laughter courtesy of his younger daughter – he knew too well his older daughter was like him in having trouble expressing themselves – and warmth. He wouldn't have to come back to a cold and dark, empty house anymore.

Charlie paused, staring at the suitcase he had just pulled out. Was it him, or were the suitcases heavier than before? No, he shook his head, he was probably tired, that's all.

"Dad!" A shriek startled him and he flinched. Lori bounced up to him, looking like she was barely restraining from jumping on the spot, beaming from ear to ear. "I'll take the smaller room. I love it–it's wonderful–the view! Here, let me take that!"

The suitcase was snatched from his grip, and he could only watch, as she came and went like a hurricane with a giggle, swerving around his other daughter who was choosing to amble down the driveway at a normal pace.

"You'll get used to it." Bella remarked dryly as she grabbed her own bags, correctly pinpointing the reason for his stunned expression.

In the room she had claimed for herself upstairs, Lori stood, mouth gaping a little with awe. She walked around, climbing onto the bed and brushing her fingers reverently over everything to enjoy the texture of the wooden furniture.

It was a little small, but it was  _beautiful_. As she had nearly screamed in her father's face before, the view from the window was marvelous. Opening out to the green forest, she knew it would be delightful to wake up to such a sight each morning. The walls were painted ivory in color, pastel blue curtains lightly billowing from the breeze, bringing the smell of nature and grass into the room like a natural air freshener, and the furniture – a bed, a small table, a bookshelf set into the wall beside the window to not take up floor space and a closet in a light oak color. There was even a small comfy-looking window seat beside the bookshelf already furnished with cushions to hug. She knew that was where she was going to spend most of her time.

It was small and there wasn't much space to walk around after all the necessary furniture had been placed inside unlike Bella's room but she loved it. It was wonderful.

Lori only hoped that she would grow to love her new school and the people in it as much as she did her new room.

* * *

 _A/N:_ _Anyone want to guess what's Lori's secret? There's quite a few hints in this chapter! Hehe_


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

  _“Sometimes when you meet someone, you just click. I don’t believe in love at first sight, but I sure believe in the click.”_

* * *

Breakfast at the Swan residence, with the addition of two new female teenagers, was an awkward affair.

All things considered, it wasn’t exactly surprising. Two of the most awkward people Lori knew were in one house together and shoved into a new situation.

Lori had woken up, to the beautiful green view outside her window. That helped her mood a little but first day jitters were already setting in. Worst case scenarios flashed through her head rapidly, many involving embarrassing situations caused either by Bella’s clumsiness or by her own inability to keep her honest snark to herself.

Sorting out the order in which they used the only bathroom when they all coincidentally but somehow expectedly gathered in front of it at the same time was the first problem. There was a mess of ‘you first’ and ‘no, you first’ before Lori had finally pushed Charlie in, stating convincingly that if he didn’t go in first, he’d have to wait ages for both her and Bella. Of course, Lori was the one that took the longest, being the only one that actually planned her outfits, styled her hair and used makeup.

Breakfast menu was the next. The two of them had hemmed and hawed in front of the kitchen counter for a while and Lori had been content to just watch on the sidelines. Bella offered to cook but couldn’t due to the lack of groceries because the man had zero ability to cook and didn’t have an inch of an idea of what to buy, the cabinets were bare of all else other than cereal and other instant food. Thus, there was only one item on the menu this morning.

And then, the most stumping problem of all was breakfast itself. Grumpy with the move and new, well, _everything_ , Bella was even more withdrawn than usual, mostly just mechanically spooning cereal into her mouth. Charlie was trying to play the father role by drawing the two sisters into conversation. The thing was, he didn’t actually know what to talk about. The questions he asked were all shut down with one-word replies.

“More milk?”

“Thanks. Uh, I like this cereal. It’s nice.”

Lori dropped her spoon back into her bowl, giving up on trying to force another spoonful past her lips. If she had to listen to the two of them try to list the benefits of Frosted Flakes, her stomach might just decide to have a reflux issue. It was already churning from the flashbacks of her first school in Phoenix that always reappeared whenever school started and watching her family members struggle socially together always stressed her out with the duty to make things more smooth-flowing for them.

She was supposed to be the social butterfly after all, the one that drew friends to her like moths were attracted to lights. She was supposed to be the cheerful one, the one that always knew what to say to make things better. She was the good girl, that never caused trouble, that could do nothing wrong.

Sometimes, she really hated that.

But she still continued anyway.

“How’s your work, dad?”

Finally, Charlie had to leave for work, wishing his daughters good luck for their first day as he left. It was no fault of his, but to Lori, it almost appeared like he was happy to be going to his man cave. Well, it was still only the first day of their cohabitation and him trying to be a father again. It was bound to be uncomfortable for a while more yet.

Lori and Bella shared a look, both knowing very clearly that no amount of well wishes were going to stop something from happening. Good luck tended to avoid Bella, or more like, be repelled by Bella. By association, Lori was more than often Bella’s partner in suffering from unfortunate events. She would bet a hundred dollars that today would be unlike a normal first day.

It was still too early to go to school yet so both sisters sat at the table. Bella didn’t start a conversation, seemingly wanting to preserve her quota of human interaction so she wouldn’t burn out before school was out. Her gaze studied the décor of the kitchen. They hadn’t gotten the time to properly see the rest of the house yesterday.

Lori noticed her sister’s face pinch together, like she had smelled something gone bad.

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” Bella mumbled. “Just that everything’s the same as before mum left.”

Lori looked around the kitchen herself. Indeed, the wooden cabinets and the yellow and white color scheme that had been chosen by Renee had remained exactly the same. The pictures of their family of four as well as their wedding pictures hadn’t been taken down either.

“It makes you uncomfortable.” Lori stated knowingly, staring her down.

“Kind of. Whatever, let’s just go.”

Lori sighed, following Bella as she strode out of the house. Here was another inhabitant happy to be leaving the house.

Bella’s reluctance to be in Forks with Charlie was something she knew very well. She wondered when Bella would stop feeling weird about how Charlie had never gotten over Renee. Maybe she felt pity for Charlie but he was an adult, unrequited love wouldn’t break him down. Renee and Charlie just weren’t meant to be. They didn’t match. It had been clear to her even when they were younger. Renee was too much of a free spirit for Charlie, too much so that even the concept of ‘opposites attract’ wasn’t enough for them to last long. Love wasn’t the only thing required to make a relationship work.

It was drizzling, rain falling like fine mist and adding to the fog. Bella’s expression soured even further, running to the truck to stop her hair from getting frizzy. God, if she was already this crabby before school started, Lori didn’t want to know how she would make it through the day.

If you practice, and made a mistake, you would end up even more frazzled then if you didn’t practice at all. So it would be best to take things as they came and then, improvise accordingly. It wasn’t too good to overthink matters as Bella tended to do.

Lori believed in not worrying too much about things that she couldn’t change. They were already in Forks for the long haul, until they graduated at least, and there was nothing any of them could do about it. It wasn’t beneficial to anybody to keep being engrossed in what wasn’t and what couldn’t be. They just had to make the best out of it and try to enjoy the rest of their high school life.

First day of school was the first day of school, and she would deal with whatever happened when it happened. She hoped Bella would learn to have more confidence, and not worry excessively about other people.

_I don’t mind not fitting in. I just want to not be thought of as the freak. I just want people to not be afraid of me._

“Bells, don’t be foul. You don’t want people to think your face is permanently sulky.”

Bella only gave her an all-suffering look as though saying she already had enough worries and to not add to it.

Lori raised her hands in the ‘I surrender’ gesture, choosing to sit quietly in the cab and stare out the window as the engine started up with a loud roar and Bella drove them to school. She decided that perhaps she should try to refrain from any sarcastic remarks regarding Bella or her sister might just collapse from stress. Honestly, the day had barely just started and she was already this high-strung.

Finding the school wasn’t a problem though Bella nearly missed the turn if it wasn’t for the huge ‘Forks High School’ sign.

The students, though, were a problem.

Bella had followed the mass traffic of students arriving, wanting to park where most students were parking. From inside the truck, they could both see the students milling about, pointing and staring at the new truck in their school parking lot. Lori thought it was a little pathetic. Couldn’t they mind their own business? Was a new truck that fascinating? The truck didn’t even look that nice; comparing to the other vehicles, it was around the same level. Because they were all staring, Lori knew Bella would be hesitant to even step out of the truck.

“Ignore them. They just don’t have a life.” Lori joked, pinching Bella’s arm hard when there was no reaction from her.

“Hey!” She whined, but a smile grew on her face in response to Lori’s cheeky smile. Bella knew that she was trying to make her more comfortable and the pinch did stop her from focusing on the ogling of the other students. That was what sisters did. Sometimes, she felt as though Lori was the only one who truly understood her.

“Let’s go.” Lori squeezed her sister’s hand reassuringly, the pale shade of their skin blending together. “We’re in this together. Us sisters against the world, yeah?”

With that, Bella felt courage rising up within her and she returned the hand squeeze, smiling back. “Yeah.”

They had gotten out of the truck – Bella smacking the top of her head against the top of the cab – and walked to the building where they saw the sign pointing to the office, while staring straight ahead and ignoring all the whispers they could hear floating around. It was almost a miracle; there should have been a dent in Bella’s skull, the number of times she had hit her head on their previous car’s door. Seems like this tradition would be continuing here as well.

All in all, it was going pretty well. The office staff were friendly and welcoming, giving them their schedule and explaining the locations of their classes clearly. Apart from the slight incident where Lori saw the glint in the staff’s eyes at their surname, she was sure that the gossip of ‘Chief Swan’s twin daughters are here!’ would be spread soon enough. There was also this slip of paperwork that they needed to get their teachers from each period to sign.

Bella almost crumpled in on herself, trying to make herself smaller and not attract any more eyes to her as they walked down the hallway. It was pointless though, with Lori flouncing along, head confidently held high next to her. People’s eyes were just drawn to Lori, inexplicably.

Next thing they knew, they were ambushed by a cheery voice from behind them, Lori flinching violently in shock.

“Isabella and Lorraine Swan, the new girls! Which one is which?”

“Uh, Bella. It’s Bella, and she’s Lori.” Lori still had the deer-in-headlights look on her face, too shocked to form words.

“Sorry about that.” He grinned apologetically at her. “Hi, I’m Eric.”

Eric was just a tad taller than them and had the appearance of the stereotypical nerd that people would assume belonged in of one of those academically-inclined clubs, like the Chess Club or something. His shaggy hair was free of product, and long, nearly brushing his shoulders. The Asian boy followed them like an eager puppy, continuing his introduction. “I’m the eyes and ears of this place. Anything you need – tour guide, lunch date, shoulder to cry on? – you can come to me.”

“Thanks!” Lori smiled brightly. “I’ll make sure to go to you for everything, including my womanly troubles.”

The guy seemed nice, decent, not like the standard jocks back at Phoenix, but he still creeped her out a little with his overeager and not subtle hitting on them. Besides, making a move on two girls – twins no less – at the same time? Not cool.

Bella’s wide-eyed look was also amusing. It was really expressive; the message was unmistakable.

_Why are you talking about that kind of things so openly in front of males?!_

“You know, I’m really more of the.. suffer-in-silence type.”

He blanched, though he perked up at Bella’s answer. Now, that was something he could work with.

“Good headline for your feature. I’m on the paper, and you girls are front page news, baby.”

“What?” Bella stopped in her tracks. “No, no, I’m not. Please don’t-”

“Alright, chillax! No feature.” He smiled gently at Bella’s panicky behavior.

“Okay, thanks.” Her sense of relief was almost palpable.

“No for Lori too?”

“No for me too.” Lori nodded sagely. “Sorry, Eric.”

“S’alright. Where are you girls headed?”

“Government, with Jefferson. Building Six?” Lori passed him her schedule. She’d have to make sure to not lose it, or she’d get hopelessly lost. Not to say that she wouldn’t, even with it in her hand. Lori’s sense of direction was dreadfully atrocious; no matter how many times the office staff had repeated herself, it just didn’t stick in Lori’s mind. She couldn’t even be left alone in a mall. Maps seemed to have something against her the way luck had something against Bella. That was part of the reason why she was such a terrible driver.

Bella huddled more into her jacket. She could’ve sworn that the people behind them were tagging closer than necessary in order to eavesdrop on them. Was that a breath on the back of her neck? A shiver ran down her spine.

Lori caught the slight tensing in Bella’s frame and nudged her inconspicuously. “Relax!” She whispered.

“I’m going to Building Four. I could show you guys the way?” Eric offered, oblivious to the exchange that just took place.

Lori really hoped he was only interested in them because they were new, because she wasn’t interested in him that way. She could tell Bella felt the same without even looking at her. He was friendly and nice, sure, but also a little persistent. She really just wanted him as a friend, when the charm of them being new wore off on him. Either way, she wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth – he offered – and she definitely needed the help with directions.

They smiled at him tentatively before unintentionally chorusing together. “Sure, thanks.”

“Oh wow, that’s cool.” Eric beamed, throwing his arms over their shoulders from his position in the middle and steering them in the direction of wherever they needed to go.

Lori cringed.

“So, where are you guys from? Is it much different from here?”

“Phoenix. And yes, it rains much less over there.” Lori replied.

“Maybe three or four times a year.” Bella added.

“Huh, I can’t even imagine that. How’s it like?”

“Sunny.” Lori wasn’t surprised at Bella’s one-word answer. Say hello to the national conversation killer.

“The two of you aren’t that tan though.”

“Our mother’s part albino.” Bella deadpanned.

Eric frowned, studying their faces intensively and Lori wanted to face palm. Bella, she wanted to tell her, you can’t use sarcasm like that or people won’t know you’re joking. And no, what’s wrong here isn’t that your senses of humor don’t mix.

* * *

Lori hoped Bella wasn’t coping too badly in her own class.

Government and the next few classes had been horrible. Both the teacher and the students had been gawking at them the whole time despite them having a seat at the back of the room. Lori had kept her face stoic, only smiling politely whenever she met someone’s eyes but Bella had been flushed red and couldn’t take her eyes off her table. It would be a miracle if any of the students had remembered anything of what Mr. Jefferson or any other of the teachers had been talking about. Lori didn’t know either; the feeling of all the eyes burning into her had prevented her from absorbing even one word. At least, they had so far avoided being forced to give an introduction speech.

Sadly, the sisters had been separated for the period before gym class; Bella going to Trigonometry and Lori to English. By some rare stroke of luck, Lori managed to get to her class just by wandering along and hoping the turn she just took was the correct one.

The students were all gaping at her the moment she stepped in. It really did wonders for her ego. Mrs. Moore, however, a stern-looking older lady with streaks of grey through her tight bun, didn’t ogle at all and simply nodded at her after signing the slip. She didn’t look like the type to tolerate nonsense either and coupled with the fact that she didn’t ask for an introductory speech, Mrs. Moore was instantly bumped up to near the top of Lori’s list of her favourite people at this school.

There was one other person in the room that didn’t look starstruck. Lori spotted her in an instant. That girl really stood out, in both looks and fashion. The contrast of her alarmingly pale skin along with her short jet-black hair in a pixie cut made her vivid amber eyes pop. The genuinely bright smile on her face. Also, the next thing that caught Lori’s attention was her outfit. It wasn’t something that she would wear, a rather quirky combination of goth and ruffles, but she couldn’t deny that the girl pulled it off extremely well. Lori found herself admiring the way the girl wasn’t content to be one of the masses.

On the way to the back of the room where Mrs. Moore had pointed Lori to – all the teachers had been directing her and Bella to seats in the back, probably in a bid to stop students from getting distracted though it clearly wasn’t working – she passed by that girl’s table.

Meeting her smile with one of her own, she told her what she thought of her. “I love your jacket, and your dress is awesome.” Shooting her a wink – she didn’t miss the widening of the girl’s smile – Lori continued on to her seat. They didn’t talk for the rest of the class; the book Mrs. Moore was talking about was actually interesting and Lori had fallen deep into the passion of which Mrs. Moore was talking with. Lori had always loved getting lost in the world of the books, but the other girl had flashed her another smile before leaving the classroom.

A pity that she left so quickly, Lori would have rather liked to try to be friends with her.

The next glass was one that she shared with Bella again, and it was also the bane of the sisters’ lives. Gym.

Bella was infamously the clumsy and unathletic twin. Lori was only marginally better; she neither thrived nor suffered like Bella in physical activities, but it was leaning more towards the side of suffering. At least, Lori was spared the affliction of having two left feet and a total lack of hand-eye coordination. She was at least passable in gym class and didn’t cause harm to unsuspecting students guilty only of being in the same room as them.

Just as she finished that thought, she saw her twin spike the volleyball into the back of a blonde boy’s head. It was a reflex reaction when the ball was headed to her face. Lori winced. He wasn’t even in the same court as them; he was playing basketball on the other side of the gym with the rest of the male students.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Bella hurried over, contrite. Her voice carried over to where Lori hung back, watching. For once, Bella had forgotten about all the eyes on her, caught up in her guilt. “I told them _not_ to let me play.”

The boy’s irritated expression melted off the moment he saw who the culprit was, turning into a smile at the sight of one of the new girls. “No, no! It’s fine. Fine, everything’s fine.”

Lori supposed he could be considered cute. Short blonde hair meticulously spiked up, a baby smile and a nice smile. Not really her type, and not really Bella’s either.

More importantly, when were people going to stop hitting on her and her sister? She’d already been propositioned a few times during classes. Just because they were new here didn’t mean they instantly had a chance.

“I’m Mike, Mike Newton. You’re.. Isabella?” He guessed, offering his hand to her.

“Bella, actually. How did you know?”

He gestured to her face, smiling sheepishly. “The brown eyes.”

Right, as if that wasn’t creepy at all. The gossip must have really spread in between classes for their different eye colours to be general knowledge amongst the student body.

Bella was just sliding her hand out of his grip when another blond jogged up to them, this time, a preppy girl that looked like she was a cheerleader.

“She’s got a great spike, huh?” The blonde smiled at the both of them, but her attention was mostly on Mike. “I’m Jessica, by the way.”

Lori wondered if she should go save her twin. Bella was looking more and more uncomfortable by the second. Even Bella wasn’t socially oblivious to the extent to not notice that she was currently stuck in between what seemed to be an unrecruited crush. Jessica was trying but failing to be subtle in making sure that the pretty new girl wasn’t alone with her man. The fake smile and laughs annoyed Lori immediately.

“Hey, you’re from Arizona, right? Aren’t they, supposed to be like, really tan over there?”

Lori wished Jessica would stop flicking her ponytail in that way as if it was supposed to be charming. And that question just brushed her in all the wrong ways. After Eric, many others had asked them the same question too. Was it a crime to _not be tan_ in Phoenix? The Swan genetics just made their skin unable to tan; they only got sunburned and went back to the same ivory shade after peeling off.

Perhaps it was lucky that Bella was the one that was there with them or something really rude would have come out of her mouth.

Though what Bella’s response was just as bad in the awkward way. How was someone supposed to respond to that? Especially when it looked like she was just trying to play it off as not a big deal when it was actually the truth. It was lacking the utter I-don’t-give-a-shit attitude to make it a sarcastic comeback.

“Yeah, maybe that’s why they kicked me out.”

Jessica’s laugh when Mike snorted, pointing a finger teasingly at Bella, was just as cringe-worthy. “You’re so funny. That’s so funny.”

Still, Lori was glad that Bella was surviving high school without needing any help from her.

“Save me.” Bella hissed an urgent plea into her sister’s ear when she walked back over to the girls’ side of the gym, hooking their arms together like it was a safety shield.

Perhaps it was too early for that sort of conclusion.

Unfortunately for Bella, and Lori – because she didn’t think she could survive another second in Jessica’s presence – the two sisters were roped into joining Jessica and Mike’s group of friends for lunch. It was more the case of queen bee trying to size up her opponents rather than a friendly offer, but Bella was too nice to reject the invitation.

Lori resigned herself to an uncomfortable lunch and the possibility of getting indigestion. So far, she still hadn’t met anyone she liked other than that girl from English. Then again, there had been something weird about her. The people sitting around looked like they were drawn to her beauty and yet, also looked like they wanted to run away at the slightest opportunity. No one had spoken to her either.

The cafeteria was quite dreary-looking. The washed-out color scheme – dull blue pillars, grey floor – was made even more drab by the fluorescent lightings. The fog and rain further added to the gloom and doom atmosphere. If only it was sunnier, Lori would have wanted to eat outside. It felt like the longer she stayed in here, the more life was sucked out of her.

Mike led them to a table in the center of the cafeteria, already occupied with Eric and another dark-haired girl. He pulled out a chair for Bella and tried to do the same for Lori but she had already pulled out her own, unwilling to do anything to lead the guy on. If the guy was just being polite, Lori wouldn’t have minded but she could tell the difference between manners and interest. Why were they all so eager to impress the both of them? What, did they think one of them could be the back-up plan if the other sister wasn’t willing to become more than friends?

' _It's my pleasure, Madame._ ', Mike had said. Lori failed to suppress her shudder. He probably wanted to look suave, but it was more  _greasy_  than charming.

“Hey, Mikey! You met my home girls? Nice to see you girls again.” Eric grinned at them, breaking off his conversation with the other girl.

Lori met her eyes, and smiled, instantly liking her. There was a kind and down-to-earth feeling to her.

There was a brief banter between Mike and Eric, a really caveman-esque dispute referring to the Swan sisters as though they were possessions to be fought over and out of the blue, a dark-skinned boy popped his head in between Bella and Lori and planted a wet smooch on Bella’s cheek. He threw a sorry-not-sorry over his shoulder at Mike as he ran away at the speed of light, figure already disappearing in the crowd of students.

Both sisters sat stunned as Mike burst out of his seat to chase after the boy, yelling all the while. “Tyler!”

Rage was boiling up in Lori. How dare they treat her sister – her socially awkward, and even more awkward with boys, unwilling sister – like that?! She wasn’t a toy to be fought over and lay claim to! They probably went to that extent towards Bella since she looked like the type that couldn’t say no; all fidgety and awkward. Their gut instinct probably told them that Lori wouldn’t hesitate to give them a good sock if they tried that stuff on her.

Bella slowly brought her hand up to wipe at the spot, taking the tissue offered to her by her twin. She could still feel the imprint of his lips pressed to her skin. It didn’t feel pleasant, that’s for sure.

“It’s like first grade all over again.” Jessica broke the awkward silence at the table in the wake of Tyler and Mike. “You’re the shiny new toys that they want to play with.”

Lori never thought she’d find herself agreeing with Jessica. _Boys._

“Smile!”

Lori didn’t have time to react at the order before she was blinking furiously, trying to get the spots out of her vision.

The other girl had attacked them with the bright flash from her camera. “Sorry, I needed a candid for the feature.”

“The feature’s dead, Angela. Don’t bring it up again.” Eric snapped, before directing a wink at the Swan twins. “I got your backs, baby.”

Lori narrowed her eyes at Eric’s unnecessarily rude and harsh remark as he left. The sudden photo attack wasn’t exactly polite either, but there were other ways to go about saying that, especially when a hurt expression crossed Angela’s face.

“Guess we’ll just run another article on teen drinking..” Angela sighed forlornly.

“You know, you can always go for eating disorders.” Bella offered with a slight chuckle. “Or speedo padding on the swim team.”

Angela broke into a sincere grin. “That’s actually a good one.”

“Proud of you, sister.” Lori thumped Bella on the back, whispering to her. “Good job.”

But Bella wasn’t even looking at her, or the other two girls at the table anymore.

“Who are they?”

Lori quirked an eyebrow at the way both Jessica and Angela went silent for a moment. She craned her head to try to spot just who Bella was asking about. She never knew Bella to take an interest in somebody enough to ask. This was the first time.

“Stop that! They’ll see!” Bella said sharply, already flushed from embarrassment and wishing belatedly that she never opened her mouth.

“Alright! But really, _who_?”

“They’re the Cullens.” Angela shrugged, discreetly pointing out the table at the far corner of the cafeteria to Lori.

Lori spotted the pixie-like girl from English sitting with three others, two males and one other female, at the table. The five of them were all different looking, obviously not blood-related, but still similar at the same time. They shared the same ivory skin, just a shade away from deathly pale, and they were all inhumanly beautiful like perfectly carved Adonis and Aphrodite statues. Despite doing nothing but sitting down, they exuded an aura of lethal gracefulness similar to that of prowling predators.

“They don’t look related though..” Bella trailed off, confused.

“They’re Dr. and Mrs. Cullen’s foster children.” Jessica leant forward, thrilled to share the gossip with the new kids. “They moved down here from Alaska a few years ago.”

“Alaska? Wow, that’s cold.” Lori shivered at the thought. She couldn’t imagine going to somewhere even colder and less sunny than Forks. She preferred cold to hot, but 24/7 snow and freezing was another matter altogether. Honestly, she was starting to regret wearing a dress – it matched the leather jacket and boots she wanted to wear today perfectly. Her legs were freezing despite the tights she was wearing. Also, from what she had seen the other students wearing throughout the day, mostly jeans and t-shirts like Bella, it looked like she was a little overdressed (apart from the Cullen girls).

“They usually keep to themselves.” Angela added.

“Yeah, because they’re together _together_.” Jessica’s voice was hushed and low as though she was imparting to them the dirtiest and most scandalous secret of all. She pointed out the girl from Lori’s English class as Alice, and her boyfriend, a tall leanly muscled figure with blonde curls who had a rather pinched expression, as Jasper. The even taller black-haired male that was built like a tank and a little intimidating – she would probably look like a kitten next to his lion – was Emmett. The blonde girl to his right was Rosalie, Jasper Hale’s blood sister and Aphrodite incarnate.

“They’re not blood-related. They can be romantically involved if they want to.” Lori said pointedly, nudging Bella hard when she looked like she was about to agree that it was weird. Bella couldn’t deny that this type of news, illegal or not, would definitely cause gossip even in Phoenix too.

“Exactly. It’s not illegal.” Angela gave Jessica a dry look. This was apparently not the first time they’ve had this debate.

“Yeah, but still, they live together.” Jessica frowned at them. Angela’s comment was expected but she was taken aback at Lori defending someone she didn’t even know. To her, it was strange and against the social norm for adopted siblings to be involved together, let alone live in the same house.

Bella coughed, directing the attention back to her to diffuse the tension between the two. Lori was probably the only person for whom Bella would be willing to brave the attention. “That’s really nice of them, to take care of so many kids.”

“I guess so.” Jessica admitted, like it was killing her to say something nice about the Cullen matriarch. “I think Mrs. Cullen can’t have any children though. And Alice, she’s _really_ weird-”

“That’s rude.” Lori had enough of the jealousy the girl was emitting, smacking a hand down onto the table. It was downright mean and childish to let her jealousy affect the way she treated them. Even Bella was frowning now. “What has that got to do with anything?”

“What?” She laughed. “Look at her, I’m just saying it like it is.”

“Look at _you_. You’re a shallow bitch.” Lori smirked at Jessica’s dropped jaw. “Oh, don’t be offended. _I’m just saying it like it is_.”

Jessica spluttered, unable to reply, and Angela’s expression was an amusing blend of impressed yet horrified.

At that moment, another one of the Cullens, Lori assumed due to the same features he shared with the other four entered the cafeteria, heading straight to the Cullens’ table. Strangely, he had a smirk on his face like he was remembering a joke someone had told him though no one was near him.

“Who’s he?” Bella asked, looking like she had been struck. Her starry-eyed gaze followed his figure across the cafeteria. He had bronze hair and a lean build, smaller than both Jasper and Emmett though no less attractive.

His head darted up, as though someone had called his name, and his eyes landed on Bella for longer than just a passing glance.

“That’s Edward Cullen. He’s gorgeous but apparently, no one here is good enough for him. Like I care, you know?”

“Yeah, I know.” Lori snorted at her bitter tone. “How many times did he turn you down again?”

“You-That’s enough.” Jessica snarled, looking like she was an inch away from lunging over the table to grab Lori’s hair. She huffed, flinging her hair away from her face, before facing Bella. “Seriously, don’t waste your time. He doesn’t date.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” Bella managed a weak smile and a shrug. It was clear to Lori that her heart wasn’t in that statement and it was proved when she caught Bella sneaking a glance over to the Cullens’ table.

Curious as to why Bella had flushed and suddenly started being enraptured in her food – it was just a standard salad, sandwich and juice box, Lori looked over to that table herself. Edward Cullen was staring at Bella too. Instead of goggling like the other boys did, the glint in his eyes were more intrigued and also, a tad frustrated. His expression was kind of like the one she would have when she got stuck halfway through solving a trigonometry problem.

Just like that, Lori knew she would be more than acceptable with him ending up together with her sister. She leaned closer to Bella, whispering into her ear. “He’s staring at you.”

“No, he’s not.” Her reply came too fast, and Bella knew she was busted. She felt her face burn even more than before.

“You _like_ him!” Lori whisper-shouted excitedly, Bella’s interest much more interesting to her than the Cullens were. Bella winced; Lori was clapping her on the back a little too strongly but at least, her younger twin had the sense to not expose her. “This is great! It’s your first crush! This is the pinnacle of high school life!”

Bella snuck another look over. He had turned away, but she had the distinct impression that he was smiling.

“Okay, I’ll be your wingman-woman-I’ll be your wingwoman.”

“What?!” Bella’s head whipped back around so fast she nearly pulled a muscle in her neck. “No!”

Lori was already half out of her chair. Angela and Jessica both stared at her like she had suddenly grown an extra head. Bella yanked hard on Lori’s arm, sending her back into her seat with a thump.

“I’m just going to say ‘hi’!” Lori laughed, looking entirely too gleeful for Bella’s taste. “No worries, I won’t out your crush.”

“No!” Bella hissed. “Stop it. Seriously!”

Lori laughed but decided not to push her sister any further. She hadn’t really been intending on making her way over in the first place, only wanting to tease Bella. Though it would have been fine even if Bella hadn’t stopped her. Alice seemed nice, friendly, and the thought of asking her where she got the inspiration for her clothes was tempting. Maybe she would ask her in tomorrow’s English class.

The rest of the lunch period passed without much incident, aside from the minor spats Jessica and Lori couldn’t stop getting into. Bella stopped glancing at the Cullens, and Lori more or less forgot everything except that the bronze-haired brother had caught her sister’s interest.

* * *

Lori stood in front at her locker after her last class, waiting for Bella.

Before going to their separate classes when lunch ended, the sisters had made plans to meet up at Lori’s locker before going to the office together to turn in their signed slips.

Bella was running a little late. She went on her tiptoes to see if Bella was reaching but saw no hint of her brunette twin among the crowd milling about the hallway.

Deciding to take the chance to organize the insides of her locker, she had only just turned around to face her locker when she was suddenly sent careening forward. Someone had roughly bumped into her from behind. She could’ve sworn she had heard a giggle. Surely, it wasn’t something as mundane as hazing the new girl?

With a loud thud, she face-planted into her locker hard.

Luckily, her reflexes had kicked in, adjusting her angle so she didn’t end up breaking her nose. The only part that had come into contact with the hard metal of the locker was her forehead.

Lori whimpered. That had _hurt_. She didn’t know when, but she had somehow slid down to her knees, one hand cradling the throbbing spot on her face and the other on the locker for support. Her head was reeling too much from the sudden impact to stand.

“Woah, hey, are you alright?” A deep velvety voice sounded from behind her. A pair of hands, firm yet gentle, clasped around her upper arms and pulled her back upright. Turning her around to face him, he only let go of her after making sure that she could stand by herself.

Raising her head up, and it was _a lot_ up – Lori thought she might have gotten a crick in her neck – past the broad chest and shoulders, and thick muscular neck, she found herself staring into a pair of amber eyes.

The male standing in front of her was one of the Cullens. She had thought that he was intimidating because of his stature, but those were one of the warmest pair of eyes she had ever seen. She wouldn’t mind being friends with him either. Lori was really embarrassed to say, especially after he had helped her, but she had totally forgotten his name.

“Are you alright?” He repeated, now genuinely looking worried.

“I’m fine, thanks uh-I forgot your name. Sorry.” She sheepishly chuckled. A slight flush spread over her cheeks, clashing with the red spot on her forehead, as she realised that the statement could potentially be taken as stalker-ish.

He quirked an amused eyebrow at her. “I think I’d know if I’ve met someone like you before.”

“Well, you’re right. You haven’t.” She drawled, before gesturing for him to come closer to her, acting like she wanted to tell him a secret.

Emmett would have thought it was a flirtation technique, but the twinkle in her eyes was purely sincerity. There was none of the ulterior motives or poorly hidden lust the other girls tended to have when they were brave enough to approach him.

Intrigued, he bent down, humoring her.

“I’m a unicorn, mister.” She made a show of whispering in his ear, hand coming up to block the view of her lips.

He let out a booming laugh, causing the other students to gawk. It was rare enough for one of the Cullens to interact with someone else outside of class when necessary, let alone laughing together with someone in the hallway. Little did she know, that would be the start of her feud with Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory.

Eventually, his laugh died down to a grin but mirth still shone in his eyes. “I’m Emmett.”

“Lori.” She bumped her fist with his outstretched one. His hand was cold and hard, like he had been freezing all day.

“So, it’s only your first day and you’re already stalking me?” Emmett smirked in the arrogant way that only a handsome man who knew he was handsome could.

“Please.” She waved her hand dismissively in his face – Emmett was almost offended – and leant back against her locker. “The girls I was sitting with at lunch felt it was necessary to dish out all the juicy gossip to the new kids, and you and your family are all the craze around here.”

“You’re not interested?” There was a tense seriousness beneath his light tone, Lori noticed.

“Yes and no.” She shrugged. “Everyone has their own weird quirk and well, it’s not really any of my business, is it?”

Something dark flickered across her face but no one saw it.

* * *

_A/N: Yay, she met Emmett! And no hints for Lori’s secret in this chapter._

_Fyi, Emmett and Rosalie only have a platonic familial relationship._


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

_"I must hide because I’m ugly_

_I’m afraid_

_So pathetic_

_I’m so afraid_

_In the end, will you leave me too?_

_So I’m putting on a mask to go see you”_

_– BTS “The Truth Untold”_

* * *

 

Lori frowned.

There was a really weird expression on Bella’s face. It was somewhat a cross between confusion and annoyance, though it melted off the moment her eyes were drawn to the bright red spot smack in the center of Lori’s forehead.

“Um, what’s that?”

“Emmett. He’s a year older and my new bodyguard for today. Emmett, Bells. Bells, Emmett.”

He grinned, waving in greeting at her. “Hey.”

Bella wasn’t actually asking about him though she was a little curious. Why did Lori think she was talking about him when she used the word ‘that’ anyway? The guy wasn’t some kind of inanimate object. He was a human to be referred to as ‘who’, not ‘that’.

Not wanting to be rude now that Lori had introduced them, she uncomfortably raised a hand in return.

“Bodyguard?” She asked apprehensively. Bella had spotted him long before seeing Lori – his head popped out above the rest of the crowd – though she hadn’t known that he would be next to her younger twin. The hulking male towered over both of them. He was more than a head taller; Lori’s head reached his chin but she was wearing near three-inch heeled boots. What did one eat to grow so tall? She didn’t think she’d ever seen someone taller than Emmett was in all her seventeen years.

“I already asked him. Beef steak, he said.” Lori whispered to Bella, correctly interpreting her expression in the seemingly telepathic way twins had.

Bella flushed, glancing at Emmett. Lori’s volume was nowhere near low enough to be a whisper. Judging by his amused grin, pearly whites flashing, Emmett had heard Lori clearly. She coughed awkwardly. “Why do you need a bodyguard?”

“She hit her head on her locker door.” Emmett graciously explained why Lori came across a little more loopy than usual when she didn’t continue beyond gesturing to the bruise on her forehead. Bella winced at the sight. It wasn’t bleeding but it was already turning an ugly mottled purple.

“What?” Bella asked dubiously. “But you’re not the clumsy twin.”

Lori only hummed vaguely in response. She wasn’t keen on letting her sister know just what had happened yet. Unlike her frail exterior, Bella could be quite a hothead at times. She had an extremely protective streak for her family and loved ones much like a lioness fiercely defending her cubs. Lori didn’t want her older twin rushing into a situation she couldn’t handle. She tended to lose sight of the important things like consequences and consideration when she was on a warpath.

Besides, she wasn’t fully certain that she had been pushed purposefully by someone.

Lori didn’t want to make assumptions based on a hunch. She had to go about this carefully. If something like _before_ happened to Bella..

“Do you need to see the nurse?” Bella’s question drew her out of her thoughts. She was still staring at the ugly swelling bruise.

Lori immediately shoved those dark thoughts back into the cage deep down in her mind, plastering a smile on her face. “Nope! It’s just a bruise, nothing serious. It’s not even bleeding. C’mon, let’s go.” She waved a dismissive hand, leading the way to the office in her heeled boots. Boy did she love these boots; they were like an instant confidence booster.

Emmett and Bella trailed after her like obedient ducklings following their mother.

“Oh, it’s one of your brothers.” Lori came to a halt at the sight of the male leaning against the front desk, being the first one to step into the office. Bella caught a glimpse of bronze tousled hair over Lori’s shoulders and was sorely tempted to just turn around and leave, the slip be damned.

Edward was in the middle of what seemed to be a heated discussion with the office lady. He was so engrossed he didn’t notice the three of them had entered the office. Though their volume was kept low, it was enough for the trio at the doorway to overhear. He was trying really hard to switch his Biology class to something else – _anything_ else.

A burst of cold wind blew in as the door opened again behind them, ruffling their hair and clothes. A girl walked in, placed a stack of papers in the basket on the desk and then hurried back out, sensing the strained atmosphere. Edward turned, finally aware of their presence, and stared daggers at Bella, looking like she had been accused of being the culprit of ruining his life. As though he wanted nothing more than for her to disappear from his sight right there and then.

He had barely looked at Lori and his brother, gaze unerringly trained on Bella. His entire stance was tensed and poised to strike.

Bella stiffened, hands clenching. The annoyance from earlier was starting to turn into anger. Just what did she do to be treated like she was a plague-ridden rat on her first day of school? It was really unfair. She’d never even heard of him before lunch hour! There was no chance for her to have offended him in any way.

For the life of her, Bella couldn’t think of any possible reason for Edward’s behaviour.

The same anger was rising in Lori. She glared back at him with the same intensity. It was clear to her that this brother had a problem with her sister that started from Biology. Of all classes, it had to be the one in which she wasn’t there with Bella. What was this animosity towards Bella?

“Edward.” Emmett’s voice was low, full of warning. His posture had shifted too, into one that was ready to jump into action at the slightest hint of a threat, in response to the slightly unhinged look in Edward’s eyes.

At the sound of his brother’s voice, Edward’s gaze flicked towards Emmett, barely acknowledging his presence, before he was out of the office in a flash. Lori was surprised that he managed to mutter a quick thank you and apology to the office lady before leaving. Those manners were contrasting to the vicious glare he had been giving Bella.

“Sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten into him. He’s usually not like this.” Emmett was visibly worried, and Lori found that slightly unnerving. From what she had seen of him, it was evident that Emmett was the type to be naturally cheerful. Emmett’s frown only meant that the way his younger brother had behaved was truly unusual. With a pat on Lori’s head and another apologetic smile to Bella, Emmett quickly went after his brother.

Bella deflated the moment the Cullen was out the door. She was more tired than angry now. Lori’s arm around her shoulder was some comfort but she just wanted to go home – even though it wasn’t really _home_ yet – and not think about all this anymore. Some rest was also in order for her to face him again in Biology tomorrow.

She wanted to forget this ever happened.

Bella’s posture was even more slumped than usual, head down and hunching in on herself as they left the office, heading to the truck. It was clear to all who looked that she was troubled.

Lori snuck a worried glance out the corner of her eye at her. It really wasn’t common for Bella to have someone that was so vehemently hateful towards her. It was usually Lori that had to deal with bullies that were offended by her filter-less mouth. For once, Lori found herself at a loss of words, unsure how to comfort her sister. She could try the ‘He’s a jackass, just ignore him’ line but it didn’t seem like it would work. Bella was too down in the dumps for anything to get through to her.

Lori just hoped she wouldn’t think that something was wrong with herself. It was an ugly truth that sometimes, people just didn’t like you, no matter what you did or didn’t do, and there’s no choice other than to accept it and move on. 

* * *

 

The next day was marginally better.

Lori got to become close with Alice Cullen, the girl in her English class. Their personalities had clicked well and conversation flowed with ease. Mrs. Moore’s had kept stern eyes on her students throughout class so they were unable to continue the conversation involving much squeals about their respective fashion styles and favourite brands during the five to ten minutes before class, but they had exchanged secretive smiles with each other and pulled funny faces to try to make the other laugh every time Mrs Moore’s attention was elsewhere. By the time class was over, the girls were interacting as though they had known each other for years.

During lunch period, where Lori found herself sitting at the same table as yesterday again, she could have ripped her ears off. Angela and Eric were fine, in fact, they were growing on her. Mike was alright too, now that he had focused his efforts on Bella alone. Lori couldn’t figure out whether he was supposed to be a bodyguard as he said he was – since he was one of the witnesses to the Bella-Edward fiasco yesterday – but he kind of just looked like a lovesick puppy. The problem was the other addition to the table.

Lauren Mallory.

Blonde hair, green eyes. She was pretty in the typical cheerleader manner with long legs and a killer physique. Apparently, it was her dream to become a model.

Lauren and Jessica had launched a gossip session straight away and some of it was downright nasty. It was really none of their business yet they were exaggerating and judging, basically trash-talking based on rumours. It was making her ears bleed. The two of them were just about the bane of her high school life.

The upside was that Edward Cullen wasn’t in school. There were only four at the Cullen’s table.

Lori would’ve gone over to their table to escape - Emmett and Alice had both flashed her a smile when they strolled in - if it wasn’t for the Aphrodite blonde giving her death glares. The other blonde, Jasper, didn’t seem to care much about her blossoming friendship with his two siblings. Either way, she couldn’t throw Bella to the sharks. The news of Edward’s behaviour had circled the school surprisingly fast and everyone was curiously staring at Bella. The two gossipmongers were alternating between shooting snide jealous looks and hungrily eyeing Bella, waiting for their chance to pounce. Lori was the only barrier protecting Bella at the moment.

“Bells, chin up! Edstúpido-“ If Lori was going to suffer through Spanish class, she’d damn well make use of it.

A loud burst of laughter carried over the chatter and clatter of the cafeteria, distinctly recognizable as Emmett’s. Lori quirked an eyebrow over at the Cullen’s table, curious why they were so loud and upbeat today – the mood of their table was usually gloom and doom apart from Emmett and Alice, but even then, the two never tried to draw attention – but Emmett was too busy choking on his laughter to see. Even Rosalie and Jasper had a little smirk on their lips.

“Don’t call him that!” Bella balked at the vulgar term Lori used, furrowing her brows disapprovingly. “Spanish class isn’t meant for you to learn how to insult people!”

Lori rolled her eyes. “ _He’s_ not here today, so stop acting like you’re being stalked.” She gave Bella a nudge, signalling her to stop pushing her food around the plate and eat. She had noticed that her older twin had been in a state of nerves ever since morning. Bella was probably dreading seeing Edward again to the point that she went around everywhere on tenterhooks like he would pop out of nowhere and start heckling her.

“What if he comes later for Biology?”

“If he apologizes, then all’s well that ends well. But if he’s rude again, then give it to him as good as you get.” Lori fixed her with a stern look. “Don’t back down, Bella. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

However, Lori’s words didn’t have much of an effect on her. Each time Lori saw her, whether in class or at the corridors in between classes, Bella looked more and more tense as the day went by. It was obvious that she was fretting herself to death, thinking about all the ‘what if’s and ‘why’s. Lori almost hoped the guy would just turn up and be rude again so Bella could give him a piece of her mind and stop being in a perpetual state of anxiety. She was worried the crease in her sister’s forehead would become permanent if this continued; it was already so deep.

At the end of the day, Lori once again saw Emmett Cullen. This time, though, he was leant against her locker waiting for her.

A lazy grin slowly spread across his face at the sight of her. “Thought it’d be better waiting here for you then try to find you because you’d probably be impossible to find in the crowd.”

“Good choice.” She nodded sagely. “You could be a lighthouse; white and tall. What’s up?”

“Bodyguard duty, munchkin. Walk you to that disaster you call a truck?”

“That disaster _is_ a truck. Factually and technically and everything else. I’m not just calling it one.” She raised an incredulous eyebrow at him, muttering under her breath. “Boys and their toys.”

“Heard that.” His grin widened, amber eyes bright with mirth. He tapped her on the nose causing her to scrunch it up.

“You were supposed to.” She stuck out her tongue at him, squealing when he made a grab for it. “Anyway, I have to wait for Bella..”

“Sure.” Emmett agreed easily.

Lori eyed him thoughtfully. “Speaking of Bella, what’s the deal with your brother and her? Where’s he? Is he coming back?”

He looked a little stunned at the sudden firing of questions but recovered quickly, a defensive gleam in his eyes. “Edward’s going through a rough time now. He’s really not usually that rude.”

“Is he avoiding school because of Bella? Is he coming back? When?” Lori’s tone was now cool, eyes narrowing. “He can’t just treat my sister like that and then disappear.”

“We had family issues. Edward went to visit our relatives in Alaska.” Emmett’s expression grew hard as well.

“Awfully convenient.”

“What are you implying?” It was a question, but his tone was so flat it sounded like a statement.

“Nothing.” Lori stared at him unflinchingly, showing that she meant business. “He just better come back to apologize or I’ll make him regret it.”

“You?” Emmett barked out a harsh laugh, so different from the ones she had heard before. “No offense, but you’re about as threatening as a chihuahua in front of a lion.”

The walk to the truck was tense and silent. Emmett gave them a curt nod as a goodbye when they reached the truck but Lori didn’t even look at him. Bella was extremely puzzled over the icy mood Lori had towards Emmett when they were all buddy yesterday but Lori didn’t offer any explanation. She was utterly fuming and Bella wisely chose to not ask any further.

The next day, there was yet again no sign of Edward Cullen at the Cullen’s table during lunch. Bella’s eye bags had only darkened, obviously not having gotten any sleep and the gossip circulating around about the two of them had only gotten worse. Lori herself was now also involved in the gossip; everyone speculating about the relationship she had with Emmett as their interactions in front of her locker wasn’t exactly secretive. Lauren had gone overboard, spilling the nastier and derogatory remarks about Lori, and Lori had just snapped, lashing out at her with venomous words before storming away. She was already on edge with the Edward-Bella issue, and with the Emmett troubles yesterday, Lauren’s attitude didn’t help at all.

Alice had still been friendly to her during English class before lunch and it had _killed_ Lori to not respond to her. She felt even worse when Alice only gave her an understanding smile tinged with sadness. Lori was forgoing all interaction with the Cullen-Hale family until Edward-Bella fiasco was sorted out. That, and she didn’t feel like talking to any of them after Emmett had defended Edward yesterday when Edward was obviously in the wrong. No matter what, he didn’t have to treat Bella that way.

“Lori, look, I just want to apologize.” Emmett came up to her again when she was stuffing the unneeded books back in her locker at the end of the day. It was quick becoming _their_ unofficial spot.

“Are you ignoring me?” He asked when she didn’t acknowledge him. Emmett sighed, exasperated. “Lori.”

“I’m not happy with you right now.” Lori determinedly kept her gaze on her books, not looking to the side where Emmett was leaning against the locker next to hers. She couldn’t look at him, because if she did, she’d cave and her stubborn pride wouldn’t allow that. Bella, her sister, had been snubbed, and Emmett was defending and hiding the one who snubbed. It wasn’t fair of her to be angry at Emmett for protecting his brother, she knew, but she wouldn’t concede on this.

“Alice was miserable.”

Lori flinched at the rather effective guilt trip. “It’s not logical, I know, sorry. But that’s how it is.” She shrugged. “It’s like boycotting brands, and I’m boycotting your family.”

With that, Lori walked away, leaving him staring after her disappearing figure.

For the rest of the week, Bella and Lori met up at the truck instead.

For the rest of the week, there was no appearance of Edward Cullen, unfortunately for the mental state of the Swan sisters – and Alice and Emmett Cullen because Lori still wasn’t speaking to either of them.

It was like that prank where people think they’re going to get pranked and so, stay on guard all the while and stressed themselves out by being jumpy but in the end, no prank ever came.

Finally, on Friday, despite becoming more comfortable with the new environment of Forks High, Bella’s nerves were a mess from always keeping an eye out for any sign of Edward. Though Lori herself wasn’t doing too well, drained from avoiding Alice and Emmett, Bella was doing much more horribly. Looking at her bloodshot eyes, Lori didn’t know whether to laugh at her or pity her. She could only offer her sister a sympathetic smile, something that carried the message of ‘keep your spirits up!’.

* * *

 

Their first full weekend in Forks was a snowy one.

Saturday morning brought about a snowstorm, keeping the Swans holed up in their house with the heaters on to the maximum for the day. It was mostly for the sisters though, Charlie was very much used to low temperatures. He always looked like he was holding in a laugh whenever one of the twins trudged by him looking like burritos, as wrapped up in their blankets as they were. Even Lori who liked the cold more than Bella was loath to go anywhere without the warmth of her blankets.

The Swans also had their first proper family meal together. Breakfast was always hurried, and most of the time they all ate at different times depending on their morning routine. Lunch was at school and at work. Charlie had always been too busy working to come home for dinner even if he wanted to, so the girls had taken to leaving portions for him to heat up when he was back.

Wanting to show their appreciation for him, the sisters had bought groceries after school on Friday to surprise him with a homecooked dinner. Charlie was quite the workaholic, intending on going to work even on the weekend so they were unable to prepare lunch, but Lori suspected he was unused to spending time at home and wanted to avoid interacting with teenagers for an extended period of time because he didn’t know what to do.

Hopefully, this dinner would ease the feeling of being out-of-my-comfort-zone a little.

They had to reluctantly abandon their blankets in order to cook but at least the stove fires raised the temperature in the kitchen more that they didn’t really need extra clothing to stay warm.

Lori was in charge of dessert – apple cobbler. It was a recipe passed down from Charlie’s mother to Renee and then, to Lori. She hoped Charlie would like it. Bella still looked uncomfortable at the idea of reminding Charlie of his ex-wife, but Lori argued that it was originally from their grandmother so the main point wasn’t Renee.

Meanwhile, Bella was in charge of the main course – steak and potatoes. The potatoes were skinned and wrapped in foil to bake in the oven while the steak was marinated for broiling later. Easy yet delicious.

The two of them were rummaging around in the cabinets, looking for the baking dish when it happened. In hind sight, Lori should have kept a better eye on Bella. With the two of them bustling about in the kitchen, and Bella’s strong affinity for unluckiness and clumsiness, it was bound to happen.

Bella had dragged over a stool to peer into the upper cabinets. It was obvious this area was hardly touched by Charlie; the various kitchen tools and crockeries were all haphazardly stuffed in. Bella wasn’t nearly tall enough to fully look in the higher cabinets even with the stool she was stood on and thus, didn’t see the kitchen knife balanced precariously on top of one of the pots she was shifting. It tipped over, sliding out of the protective packaging as it fell pointed edge first.

Bella instinctively shut her eyes, cringing at the sight of the glinting edge of the knife falling out of the cabinet.

“Bella!” A panicked scream from Lori.

There was a loud thunk.

But Bella felt no pain. Running her eyes down her front, scanning for any signs of injury, she froze when her eyes landed on her feet.

Bella let out a shaky breath. She couldn’t believe just how close she had come to being seriously injured. Her luck really had taken a turn for the worse after coming to Forks. She could’ve sworn the knife was headed straight for her face, but it was now stuck vertically in the wooden stool in between her feet, still slightly vibrating from the impact.

Dazedly, she slowly stepped down from the stool. Turning to the side, she met Lori’s gaze. Lori’s eyes were wide in terror, face sickeningly pale. Her hand was still outstretched in the air, as though she had been reaching for Bella, but she quickly snatched it back the moment Bella turned to her.

Even though Lori always looked like nothing could faze her and went about with an unshakeable confidence, Bella had always been the one that could brush off the life-threatening situations the twins somehow always found themselves in with no trouble. She was alive and that was all that mattered. If Bella was going to panic and dwell over every incident that landed her in the hospital, she’d have a heart attack faster than her clumsiness could send her back there again. She supposed Lori was the more fragile one in this case.

“Lori! I’m fine.” Bella smiled, wanting to wipe off that terrified expression on Lori’s face. “Lucky it missed me so, no need for a trip to the hospital.”

“ _Lucky_..” Lori breathed out. She forced a smirk out, acting like she wasn’t bothered anymore but the tremble in her hands said otherwise. “Yeah, lets not make another hospital your second home. Maybe your unlucky streak’s taken a leave of absence.”

Bella chuckled. “It’s not like I pay it to stay. Don’t talk about unpaid leave, I’d actually pay it to _leave_.”

They continued on preparing for dinner without any more hiccups, finishing just in time before Charlie arrived.

“Hey, dad.” Bella greeted him, Lori chiming in after, as he hung up his gun holster belt and took off his shoes.

“Hey, what’s for dinner?” Charlie hesitantly asked, smelling the aroma in the air. His body language practically screamed ‘wary’ at them.

The two sisters shared an eye roll when his gaze moved away from them. Charlie needed to remember that the girls were much better cooks than their mother, who had a fondness for experimenting with her imaginative ideas. Those meals always turned out worse than they appeared to be. That was one of the things about Renee that still hadn’t changed. Phil was now the sole victim of her latest experiments.

“Perfectly normal steak and potatoes plus apple cobbler for dessert.” Lori grinned and Bella had to stifle a chuckle at Charlie’s relieved expression.

“Thanks for the dinner. It uh, smells good.” Charlie praised when they were all seated, but he didn’t pick up his fork and knife. “I know I haven’t been around lately, but it’s been great having you girls here. It feels like _home_ again.”

He had talked haltingly, like he was thoroughly considering every word before it came out of his mouth. As though he was afraid that what came out in words may not be what he intended it to be in his mind, as though he was afraid of making a mistake.

“Thanks, dad.” Lori smiled warmly, a little teary-eyed already. Bella simply nodded in agreement, surprised and sad at the same time. She still didn’t know if this house felt like _home_ to her yet and it made her a little guilty.

Charlie ended the emotional exchange with a gruff nod and an awkward cough. “Let’s eat.”

That was the first time either of the two girls had seen him express his feelings in such a way. He usually avoided all topics about feelings and emotions especially when it came to them; Billy Black was one of the few exceptions. It only reaffirmed the fact to them, that though he was gruff and not a man of many words, Charlie truly did love his daughters.

It also helped that he tried to get to know his teenage daughters more beyond ‘ _they are my teenage twin daughters_ ’ by asking questions about their school life and how they were adjusting, though they were admittedly commonly used questions. Dinner became a much less stilted and uncomfortable affair as compared to their first breakfast.

Sunday morning, however, was a nightmare for Lori.

She had woken up with a particularly bad cold. Her nose refused to stop running – it was almost a leaky tap. Eventually, the common cold turned into the full package of runny nose, cough, sore throat and fever. Lori felt positively awful but there was no one to blame for her blunder; she had left the window open a crack to feel the refreshing wind on her face while reading on the window seat and had accidentally fallen asleep there, suffering the icy chill for the whole night.

Bella had been dashing back and forth, fussing over every little detail in taking care of Lori. Charlie had offered to send Lori to the hospital if she needed on his way to work – the man had exceeded his parent-child interaction quota for the weekend due to the dinner last night – but Lori had declined it. There was no need for a trip to the hospital – God knows she had seen enough of it for a lifetime because of Bella’s clumsy mishaps – and this was actually quite common for her. Despite liking the cold more than hot weather, Lori had always gotten sick easily. Eating a rich chocolate brownie would effortlessly give her a sore throat.

Lying on her bed wrapped up in even more blankets than the day before courtesy of Bella, Lori cast a peeved glare at the window seat. She cursed the comfortable cushions there. If they weren’t all squishy and cushy, she wouldn’t have fallen asleep there!

“Lori, the tissue box’s-“ Bella froze in the doorway, giving her a withering look. “Did you get out of bed?”

“What?” Lori’s eyes widened innocently, but Bella spotted the slight apprehension in her posture. She heaved a sigh, wondering if she was really that scary.

“Did the tissue box just walk over by itself or something?” Bella deadpanned. The way the Lori’s apprehension intensified at her words escaped her notice as she continued grumbling. “I remembered the tissue box was out of your reach so I came up and now, it’s magically sitting at your bedside when you’re not supposed to leave the bed.”

“Sorry.” The edges of Lori’s sheepish smile faltered.

* * *

 

On Monday morning, Lori was still bedridden by Bella’s orders due to her un-receding temperature. Bella had cooked her lunch to heat up later and had forbidden her to even try to leave the house.

Lori wondered fleetingly if Edward was going to school today and if Bella could handle it if he did. She knew Bella was still concerned about what he thought of her and why he had been so vehemently hostile.

But there was nothing she could do about it now. If anything happened, she’d wring the details out of Bella and then she and Edward would have a talk. A talk where she’d make sure to let Edward know just what she thought of his behaviour. Chihuahua or lion didn’t matter! Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. She’d just have to wait for when Bella came home.

In the meantime, she’d have to find something else to occupy her time or she would die of boredom before she could get that opportunity.

Television, or books or maybe Tiffany would be up for a call, Lori could probably convince her to do a video call during their lunch period. They had been staying in touch via emails but calls were another thing. Tiffany would likely die of jealousy if she heard about the Cullens. Lori decided to try to sneak a picture of the Cullens if they ever made up when Edward came back to Forks and made amends with Bella.

* * *

 

“Lori! Lori, are you there?” Bella hurried up the steps to her sister’s room, nearly breaking her nose as she tripped in her haste. She was absolutely bursting with the need to talk to someone with her thoughts about the Cullen that had returned to school today.

Edward had been surprisingly amiable today, though a little insufferable and smug at times, even asking about her home life and other little things. He had behaved like he was interested to know her, a far cry from the if-you-come-near-me-I’ll-kill-you attitude he’d displayed last Monday.

He had thrown her mind for a loop.

There was a yelp and a metallic tinkling sounds as she shoved open the door.

“Bells!” Lori cried, jumping up from her bed in shock.

“Lori! I have to- what were you doing?”

The entire floor of her room, including the bed and the person herself, had coins scattered all over it.

“I’m pretty sure people don’t use coins like confetti.” Bella deadpanned.

“Of course not.” She scoffed. “You came stomping up like a rampaging elephant so I accidentally dropped it all over.”

Lori brushed herself off, tinkling noises coming as the coins dropped to the floor from the weirdest of places, avoiding eye contact all the while. “I was just going through my coin collection.”

“Since when did you have a coin collection?” Bella eyed her skeptically. She was being oddly.. defensive. And there was something flustered and horrified in her expression, like she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t have.

Guilt. Trepidation. Terror.

Like she was waiting for her to run off screaming.

Strangely, she mused, it was somewhat similar to the look Edward sometimes had when he thought she wasn’t looking.

Oh, right. _Edward_.

Instantly, the confusion from before boiled up in her again and all suspicious thoughts of how the scattered placement of the coins on the floor didn’t seem like it had been dropped by Lori - the coins would have landed all in the spot if that was the case – and how the sound of the coins dropping had sounded more like raindrops falling instead of the pouring sliding sound it would have made if they were all dropped from the same place, disappeared. Once more, Bella’s mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of Edward’s contrasting attitude towards her.

His mood swings were driving her crazy.

So keen on ranting out her frustrations of his behaviour, Bella missed how Lori visibly sagged in relief.


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

_“I didn’t want to wake up_

_I was having a much better time asleep_

_And that’s really sad_

_It was almost like a reverse nightmare_

_Like when you wake up from a nightmare you’re so relieved_

**_I woke up into a nightmare_ ** _”_

* * *

 

“Lori.” Bella stared at her from the driver’s seat, entertaining the thought that perhaps the two days of fever had damaged her twin’s mental facilities beyond recovery. “It’s a truck. The same old truck. Nothing changed.”

Lori was currently in very high spirits. She was just so happy at everything and anything. Her fever had abated sometime while she slept, and the accumulated discontentment from being bedridden and confined the past two days only contributed to her glee right now. Even the icy roads, frozen over from the rain last night, didn’t bring her down. Bella though, literally brought her down. The older brunette had lost her balance the moment she stepped out the front door. Lori was dragged down with her as Bella had instinctively latched onto the nearest form of support she could get – unfortunately for Lori, it was her arm – and they both landed heavily on the icy driveway.

Despite the pain on her derrière that told her an aching bruise was sure to appear later, Lori only laughed and brushed the incident off. Nothing could bother her.

“I know it’s a truck. What are you trying to say?”

“Nevermind.” Bella muttered, shaking her head. “Just get in.”

“Anyway, about Edward,” Lori started, propping her legs up on the dashboard casually as Bella drove off. Said older twin shoved the younger’s legs down almost immediately, glaring heatedly. “He apologised, and as far as you know, is going to continue being nice to you?”

“Well, yeah, I hope so.”

“Would it be bad of me to hope not?”

“What?!” Bella yelped in disbelief, barely avoiding swerving the truck. Luckily, the truck managed to stay safely on the road. Lori instantly felt a rush of appreciation for Charlie’s thoughtful action, remembering seeing the shiny metal chains criss-crossed around the tyres. He must have gotten up really early to put it on for them. “You want him to continue glaring at me?!”

“No! I just-well, kind of imagined the scene where I could give him the overprotective sibling talk.” Lori shrugged casually in response to Bella’s gawking. “You know, like pull his collar and the _I don’t care what your problem is but if you ever mess with my sister again, you’ve got hell coming for you_ thing?”

Also, now that Edward was cordial towards Bella, that meant that Lori didn’t have to ignore Emmett and Alice now. She was worried that they were angry with her for what happened over the last week. It was understandable if they were, and she wouldn’t blame them for that or for protecting Edward. _Family_ came first. No matter what. Nevertheless, Lori hoped that they could reconcile and start up their friendship again. She would definitely be sad to not have those two as friends.

Lori would have to try to talk with them, apologize that she had to ignore them because she liked being friends with them but also, not apologize because she didn’t think it was wrong. It was contradicting, yes she knew.

Maybe she’d still give Edward a talking to, not for Bella, but for herself. After all, if it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t be stuck in this awkward position between family and friends.

While debating on what to do towards Edward, the truck slowly rattled into the parking lot. The group of pale people milling about the silver Volvo across the parking lot instantly caught her eyes the moment she got out of the truck.

Alice gave her a smile, the first in days, when their eyes met and Lori couldn’t help but return it with one equally as bright. Alice’s smile then turned smug, and she gave the guy standing beside her a smack on the arm. Lori’s gaze followed her action, landing on Emmett, who offered her a tentative nod and Lori felt her heart melt. Oh, these two were the sweetest, really. She turned her smile to him, wriggling her fingers at him in a little wave and his lips curled up in a full blown grin.

Not that she cared about the J/L Mean Girls Society but at least now that she and the two Cullens were on speaking terms again, Lori wouldn’t have to tolerate listening to them trying to pinpoint the reasons for their sudden cold war. Oh, Emmett got sick of her, Emmett found her boring, Emmett thought she was mean, and many other remarks not worth mentioning. She hated the way they talked when they didn’t know anything but had been feeling too down to rip them one. Today was a good day, though, so maybe today was the day to shove it in their faces. She couldn’t wait.

Bella gave Lori a relieved smile, having felt a little guilty about causing the rift between her sister and them.

Lori inadvertently met Edward’s gaze, immediately schooling her expression into a nonchalant one when he smirked amusedly. That smirk had better not mean that he was playing with Bella. It was going to be a while before she could be anything resembling nice to Edward. “Hey, it’s the Cullens. And Edstúpido’s-”

“I told you not to call him that!” She hissed.

Lori’s response was a noncommittal grunt. “Whatever. He’s staring. Why?”

“How does he look?” Bella self-consciously tried to angle herself behind Lori’s figure.

“The same..? Maybe a little constipated.”

“Not that! Does he look angry or uh, well, not angry?”

Lori eyed her sideways, though still keeping Edward and his smirk in her sight suspiciously. “Is he supposed to be? Wasn’t he working on being all buddy buddy with you?”

Bella nearly whimpered. She really didn’t want to be glared at again. It was infuriating, but also terrifying. “Just want to make sure it’s not a fluke, or a mood swing again.”

“He’s not angry..” Lori started slowly, still not willing to break the staring contest with him though her eyes were starting to burn. God, why did he seem like he had no trouble at all keeping his eyes open for so long? “He looks like he just saw the funniest joke ever, but the thing is, he’s staring at us. So I’m guessing, _we’re_ the butt of the joke..?”

“..What?”

“I don’t get it either. I don’t get _him_. You have weird taste, sister.”

Bella flushed. “Lori! I don’t-“

A loud screech drowned the rest of her sentence out, painfully grating on their ears like nails on a chalkboard.

Whipping around to where it came from, all Lori could see was blue. The deep dark blue of the van currently skidding, looking like it wasn’t going to be able to stop anytime soon. It was spinning on the iced over road of the parking lot, hurtling closer towards her and Bella by the second.

Lori understood two things in that fraction of a second. First, if that van didn’t stop, it was going to crash into them. Second, if that van didn’t stop, Bella would be seriously injured or dead. Worst case scenario, squashed flat like pancake into the side of their red truck.

Her heart thumped vigorously, giving her an adrenaline rush for the fight-or-flight situation. It was like she was in a haze. She was there, yet not there at the same time.

She felt Bella yank on her arm, trying to pull them both to safety. And she felt the pain on when Bella slipped on the ice and took Lori down with her, landing on the ground, legs crumpled and tangled together. Disentangling their legs in time for them to escape seemed impossible. She felt Bella clutch the back of her jacket in a death grip and bury her face in her back, hiding.

Lori _moved_.

It wasn’t a conscious decision. She wasn’t thinking at all.

Her hand snapped out instinctively, using it to focus and direct her power to the target; the dark blue van.

Lori pushed it away with her mind, imagining and willing with all of her might for it to slow when something hit her from the side abruptly.

Her head cracked hard onto the ground, and she heard another thud from behind her, probably the sound of Bella’s head striking the road too. Lori could still feel her sister’s hands on the back of her jacket. Something cold and immovable was on top of them, pinning them to the ground.

Her vision was spinning from the impact but she saw it clearly enough; the van was still coming in their direction. They were out of the original point of collision but the van had hit the back corner of their red truck and its trajectory curled. It wasn’t as fast as before but at that speed, bones could still be shattered, crushed. Lori’s arms were immobilized by whatever that was on top of them but she managed to slide her hand out from underneath. It was closer and slower. She had to stop it.

Her mind was straining, _aching_ , when a pale arm shot out into her vision that was previously just filled with blue, hand smacking into the side of the van. It stopped so suddenly the glass of the windows popped. To her surprise, that hand didn’t buckle under the impact but instead, left a deep dent in the blue metal.

Lori was just staring at the tyre of the van inches away from tearing into her face, zoned out, when her and Bella were shifted upright carefully.

Edward Cullen was there, not a single bronze hair out of place, in the limited triangle of space they had, barricaded in by metal. His arms were the ones that had pinned them down, were the ones that had stopped the van.

He turned from talking – arguing? – with Bella to her, his dark amber eyes wide in shock.

Something clicked in her mind as they stared at each other, and Lori knew _he knew_. It was in his eyes.

Everything was a blur after that.

There was a lot of noise, yelling, and sirens. People were bustling around her, pushing and pulling at her like she was a rag doll, trying to get her to move or answer questions, she didn’t know. Her mind was in a daze, her body on auto-pilot. The only thing her mind could comprehend, was that _someone_ _knew._

And then, everything went black.

* * *

 

Lori woke up to a tingling feeling on the back of her neck. It was slightly creepy, and hair-raising. Someone was watching her.

“Miss Swan, are you awake?” The voice that came was low and soothing, not meant to startle but it did anyway.

She flinched in surprise, eyes blinking rapidly to clear her vision. The first thing she saw was Dr. Carlisle Cullen. She assumed it was him. Charlie and her schoolmates had mentioned that the patriarch of that family was a doctor. The pale skin, amber eyes, and flawless face features of a Greek statue were also a giveaway. They were all the similarities the Cullen-Hale family shared.

Her heartbeat instantly quickened. She remembered Edward. She remembered the accident and that he knew. Did he tell his family? The Cullen family was _strange_ too, definitely, but what would they think of her? She didn’t know how to feel about any of them. It was uncomfortable.

He moved to help her sit up when she struggled, but she inevitably flinched away when the cold of his hands penetrated through her clothes. “How are you feeling?”

“Where’s-” She croaked, voice rasping horrendously and he handed her a cup of water with a smile. Lori accepted it gratefully yet warily, and spoke again when her throat didn’t burn any longer. “Bella, is she alright?”

“She’s fine, only a bump on the head, mild concussion. In fact, you and Mr. Crowley – the driver of the van – are the only ones that had to stay.” Carlisle smiled reassuringly as he told her. His whole demeanour was gentlemanly and calm.

Lori decided that perhaps he didn’t know. If he did, surely he wouldn’t be behaving so kindly. Or it could be his doctor professionalism, unable to turn away an unconscious patient. But she saw no signs that he was afraid of her. “Oh. When..?”

“Only this morning. You’ve been out for a few hours. Chief Swan went back with your sister first. You had a nosebleed and a possible concussion so I suggested you stay the night for observation.”

“I see.” Lori was relieved. There didn’t need to be more things wrong with her brain. She already knew the reason for the nosebleed. It was a manifestation of the overexertion while using her powers. It had happened often enough whenever she had practiced too much.

“My children seem fond of you.” He started while giving her the standard check-up, smiling amiably at Lori’s confused look. “Emmett and Alice are very concerned over your well-being.”

“Yes, well, we’ve talked. They’re very friendly.” She didn’t know why, but he looked a little smug, like he knew something she didn’t and was happy about it.

Finally, after prodding her head and flashing his penlight in her eyes, he proclaimed Lori well enough to go home tomorrow after another check-up in the morning. Carlisle bid her farewell and left her to stew in her thoughts. There was no other mention of the accident, nor her abilities, nor of Edward.

She was very puzzled, but also felt it was better this way. Unfortunately, it looked like she would never get to give that reconciliation apology speech to those two. It would be better if she didn’t interact with them again. She didn’t want to answer questions.

She wanted to pretend it never happened at all.

Lori Swan was just a normal girl, that’s all. She was normal.

* * *

 

“Lori!” Bella cried, and Lori found herself with an armful of brunette. “You were bleeding from your nose, and Edward was worried he might have smacked your head too hard because you weren’t waking up-“

“Are you alright?” Charlie asked over Bella’s rambling, hovering at the foot of her bed.

“I’m fine, totally fine. Dr. Cullen said so.” She managed a smile for the both of them.

“Oh, is that so? That’s great, then.” He heaved, visibly relaxing. “You’ll uh, also have to call your mother.”

Lori gaped at him and he winced. Bella suppressed a groan. “She’s totally freaking out even after I called her yesterday. And she told Tiffany too.”

“Right. I’ll call them later.”

The three of them stared at each in silence for a moment, Charlie not knowing what to say as he didn’t want to be the overbearing parent, Bella because she wanted to talk about things that would be weird in front of Charlie, and Lori just not being in the mood to keep up appearances other than smiling. She was too drained mentally to try to be the mood maker.

Carlisle was their saviour. He popped his head in, calling for Charlie to fill in the forms to discharge Lori. The moment Charlie left, Bella pounced.

“Lori, do you remember what happened? The accident?” She asked urgently.

“Yeah..” Lori stiffened.

“Edward was there, right? But he was across the lot, you were staring at him! And you saw him stop the van with his bare hands, right?”

“Bella,” Lori stared at her, wishing to avoid this whole topic altogether. “Have you asked Edward? What did he say?”

“That he was beside us, that he was walking towards us when the van came, and that it was impossible for a human to do that.” Her eyes narrowed. “But he’s lying! I know it!”

“Let go of it.”

“What?” Bella’s eyes widened. “You don’t believe me? You think I’m crazy too like he said?”

“I didn’t say that!” Lori huffed. “I just-look, people have their secrets so why don’t you just let him keep his?”

“No!” Bella growled, anger sparking in her eyes. “He’s _lying_ and he won’t explain anything!”

“Why do you want to know?! What good will knowing do you?!” Lori was starting to get frustrated too at Bella’s stubbornness.

“Why can’t I know?!” Bella demanded, feeling wronged. “What’s wrong with me, why can’t he tell me the truth?!”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Lori said flatly, turning away.

“You’re my sister! You’re supposed to back me up!” Bella snapped, hurt and betrayal fuelling her sharp tone.

“Don’t dig into things you’re not supposed to!” Lori snarled back. “If he doesn’t want to explain, then _leave it be_!”

“What do you mean ‘ _not supposed to_ ’?! We’re involved in this! I-we saw it! So we have the right to know!”

When Charlie returned, it was to a room full of cold tension with both sisters ignoring the other. He was understandably confused.

The next day, the atmosphere between the sisters was still as strained. They didn’t say a word to each other – Lori outright ignoring Bella and Bella shooting Lori angry looks – whether in the morning or during the drive to school.

Lori was beside herself in barely concealed panic. She couldn’t stop thinking about the Cullens. Edward hadn’t told his father but had he told them? Would they be afraid of her? Should she try to deny it?

She needn’t have worried, Lori found out.

The month after was filled with people swarming her at every minute, either wanting to know the itty bitty details or genuinely wanting to know about her health. Nobody gave her the creeped out look or said anything. It was like Tyler was the villain, Edward the hero and the Swan sisters the damsels in distress as though it was a fairy tale. Lori slowly made it through the crowd, giving out small smiles and courteous but dismissive answers, confused and wary.

Tyler Crowley, the villain himself, had become completely insufferable. Apparently, he had given up on Bella for Mike, and had turned his affections towards Lori in a misguided attempt at an apology for landing her in hospital overnight. He was following her everywhere, apologising continuously and overeager in trying to help by carrying her books. He was driving her up the wall. Somehow, he had also gotten her number and had taken to leaving her apology messages as well. Lori was seriously considering siccing Charlie on him.

So she figured that Edward hadn’t told anybody. Lori supposed it could be that he understood the importance of keeping secrets secret, unlike Bella. She would keep quiet about theirs in return for their silence about hers. Still, the Cullens were _strange_ and Lori wanted to distance herself from them, no matter how nice they were. She’d had enough of weird things for a lifetime by herself, she was not keen on adding on more strangeness from others into her life.

Lori honestly had no intention of finding out their secret. She was going to see how true the phrase ‘ _out of sight, out of mind_ ’ really was.

Life really liked to throw her curveballs. Just not long before, she was looking forward to reconciling with Alice and Emmett, and now she was going to act like they were strangers. Lori’s day of high spirits seemed like it was years ago. Life really had something against her friendships. Tiffany was the first and only friend she’d made that lasted years. Tiffany had persisted and persisted, following her around so that Lori could know that she wasn’t leaving and was serious about becoming friends with her.

Unexpectedly, when they met in English, that first day after her stay in the hospital, Alice didn’t try to start conversation at all. They went through the whole period in silence, without even a glance. None of the Cullens acknowledged her during lunch either, not even Emmett. There wasn’t a wave nor a smile. Lori couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment buried within the relief. It was better this way. In any case, it was easier when both parties were doing the ignoring.

For some reason, the Swan sisters weren’t the only siblings not on good terms. Lori noticed that both Emmett and Edward weren’t speaking to each other either; their faces were terrifying in their anger. She dismissed it though. The Cullens were none of her business now.

“Guys, what’s going on?” Eric hesitantly poked, sharing a worried glance with Angela. “You’ve been like this for the past few days.. ever since the van..”

Their friends sitting at the table had also noticed that there was tension between the sisters. The crossed arms and sullen glares in the opposite directions were clear signs.

“Nothing.” They chorused, shooting a glare at the other for the syncing of their answers.

“Bella’s being stubborn.”

“Lori’s being unsupportive.”

Lori slapped a hand down on the table. “It’s not whether I’m supporting you or not! You should respect other people’s privacy!”

Bella flushed red in anger, and a little embarrassment at all the attention their spat was drawing. “I have a right to know!”

“I’m not stopping you from doing anything. Do it if you want, just leave me out of it.” Lori huffed. “I want no part in this.”

Their cold war continued on, whether in school or at home.

“Why won’t you help me?!” Bella shouted as Lori stormed up the stairs to her room.

“I don’t want anything to do with the Cullens. I’ve told you, I don’t want to know!” Lori felt like tearing her hair out in frustration. “Why can’t you just stop asking me?!”

Even Charlie wasn’t spared from the feud, having to brave the uneasy atmosphere when the three were seated at the dining table. He thought he should better prepare some medicine; he wouldn’t be surprised if he got indigestion. It was impossible to eat in peace, and this feud didn’t appear to be getting resolved anytime soon.

The sisters too, weren’t unaffected. Stress was piling up on them as well. Both were suffering from nightmares and each day, the bags under their eyes grew darker. Of course, nobody was the wiser about Lori since she was adept at covering it up with makeup.

Weeks passed by in this manner and eventually, the conflict between the twins had died down enough for them to become civil again. Though their civility was still a tad uneasy at times, they had agreed to disagree on this matter, shoving it into the back of their minds since there was no longer any point in this argument when the topic – the Cullens – was ignoring them.

Soon, in two weeks, it would be the girls’ choice spring dance.

Lori had been made aware of this in a particularly unpleasant way. All these guys she’d never even spoken to before were coming up to her with roundabout questions and asking her to ask them to the dance, which she felt was really ridiculous and totally against the girls’ choice principle. She’d had to turn them down, and their kicked puppy looks afterward sapped her strength. Only the decent ones got a polite refusal though. Those that were plain arrogant and cocky got some harsh retorts straight to their face with no mercy at all.

Luckily for her, she had a legit excuse. Tiffany would be coming to stay that weekend as promised before Lori shifted. By some stroke of coincidence, their different schools had the dance on the same weekend. She still needed to avoid her ex-boyfriend and had finally decided to come to Forks instead of trying to uphold her I’m-doing-well-without-you image and brave the dance without her female best friend. Tiffany was also coming to Forks the weekend before. She had somehow discerned that Lori was down in the dumps through their emails and phone calls, and had wrangled her parents into letting her come to Forks for the two weekends. Charlie had graciously accepted their visitor as long as they were fine to share Lori’s room.

That day, their guy friends were all fidgety in their seats during lunch and Lori only found out at the end of the day. Something else uncommon was that Alice and Emmett had been sneaking her looks during English and lunch. It was as if they were waiting for something to happen. Alice seemed more smug while Emmett was just troubled. Edward and Emmett also appeared to have gotten into another spat at lunch again, Edward storming out of the cafeteria and Emmett brooding at the table, adding to the gloomy aura already emanating to him.

After school, Lori was nearing the truck – mostly repaired after the accident except the dent Edward left – when she spotted a head of black hair waiting, leaning against the truck. For a moment, her heart skipped, wondering if it was Emmett waiting for her like he used to before during her first few days.

Then, she recognised the face that came with the black hair. It was Eric, looking quite clammy and a nervous wreck.

“Eric? What’s up?”

“H-hey!” He squeaked. “Uh, I’m waiting for Bella..?”

“What for?” Lori asked, genuinely oblivious to his intent, as she dumped her bag in the cab.

“I want to ask her to the dance..”

She cringed internally. Lori didn’t expect that Eric would want to ask Bella. She actually thought Eric and Angela would be good together.

“Hey, Eric!” Bella called, nearing the truck.

“I’ll just go inside so you can um, yeah, alone.” Lori clambered into the cab, shutting the door to give him some semblance of privacy.

Eric jumped, and Lori eyed him sympathetically, steeling herself to watch Bella turn him down. She couldn’t decide whether to be embarrassed for him or for Bella.

“Bella! I-I was wondering if you would go to the spring dance with me?”

“Wasn’t it girls’ choice?” Bella subtle attempt to reject him failed but she tried again with a warmer smile at the shy flush on his face. “Sorry, but I’m going to Seattle that day.”

“Maybe next time, then.”

“Sure.” Bella quirked an eyebrow at Lori, as they watched him walk away.

“Not judging, sister. I’ve had to turn down some guys too.” Lori held her hands up.

“Mike tried to ask me.” Bella groaned, burying her face in her hands. “I told him to ask Jessica though.”

“A win-win situation. Good job.” The twins shared a fist bump.

They turned around at a low chuckle. Edward was walking by the front of the truck, lips firmly pursed together as though suppressing laughter. Lori could’ve sworn he glanced at both her and Bella. She frowned. Why was the Cullen paying attention to them again?

Lori stared, bewildered as Bella quickly hopped into the truck and started the engine. “What’s the rush for?”

She only shook her head, stepping on the accelerator to reverse out into the aisle of the parking lot, only to brake again soon after. Edward’s shiny Volvo was blocking the way, assumedly waiting for his family. A glance at the side mirror told Lori that a line of cars was forming behind their truck.

“What a turd.” Lori murmured. “That’s road hogging. Can we report him to dad?”

She glanced warily at Bella’s fingers tapping agitatedly on the wheel. Edward and Bella looked to be at odds again out of the blue. Did they have another argument in Biology? Why did Edward start talking to Bella again? Lori thought that Bella should just leave the Cullens alone; she had a hunch that their secret was going to turn their world upside down, and maybe not for the better. But sharing her thoughts on this would only start another rift between her and her sister and Lori had gotten enough of arguing for a while.

They were just waiting for Edward to move when there was a tap on Lori’s window. Tyler was there with a smile, motioning for her to wind down the window.

Lori did so with a confused look. Bella called out from the driver’s seat, an annoyed look on her face. “Sorry, Tyler. I’m stuck behind Cullen.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Tyler grinned. “Actually, I had a question for Lori.”

Lori was horrified. She hoped desperately it wasn’t what she thought it was. Tyler was starting to becoming stalker-ish.

“Will you ask me to the dance, Lori?”

“I’m dreaming. Hallucinating.” Lori turned to Bella, a plea in her tone. “There’s no one there.”

“Uh, what? Lori, are you alright?”

“He’s there. And he’s asking.” Bella deadpanned.

“Tyler, I’m not going to the dance.” Lori’s smile twitched.

“Yeah, one of my friends said that.” He shrugged.

Her frown deepened. “Then why would you still ask me?”

“I was hoping you were letting him down easy.” He grinned.

A scathing retort was on the tip of her tongue – _you’re the one I’m letting down easy or maybe I shouldn’t_ – but Tyler was still somewhat the friend of her friends. A sparing of his feelings was necessary. She bit it back. “Sorry, I’m really not free. My friend from Phoenix is coming over.”

“That’s alright. We still have prom.” And then, with a parting wink and smirk, he was gone.

Lori was left dumbfounded, frozen in her seat. Bella disguised a snicker as a cough at the sight of her face.

She let out a stifled scream of indignation. Screw sparing his feelings, she’d _butcher_ him if he dared to ask her out again. “We still have prom?! What makes him think I’m going to go with him-Oh my god! That bloody lout! Can I strangle him? If I strangle him, will he stop being so guilt-ridden?!”

Bella full out laughed at the desperate look on Lori’s face and the grabby motions her hands were making as though Lori was imagining Tyler’s neck there. Looking away from her, Bella caught sight of shaking shoulders in the Volvo in front. Edward and Emmett’s silhouettes were unmistakable. They were clearly laughing as well. It was almost as if they had heard Tyler and Lori’s conversation.

* * *

 

Bella dropped the key to the truck, her icy fingers fumbling as she tried to lock the door to the truck. She heaved a sigh of frustration, inwardly cursing her always uncooperative body.

Lori bent down to help her find the key; Bella’s frozen fingers had inadvertently shoved it deeper into the layer of snow. This level of clumsiness was a little too much, even for Bella. She was unanimously the best cook in the house since forever; Bella had never even burnt an egg before, yet yesterday, she’d nearly burnt down the kitchen along with their dinner. The older brunette had been in a daze, alternating between stages of perplexity and anger, but no matter how much Lori pried, Bella wouldn’t say anything. Lori wondered just what was it that was taking up so much of her sister’s attention that Bella was becoming more of a danger to herself and others.

“Found it!” Just as her fingers uncovered the key, pale fingers appeared in Bella’s vision and picked it up.

Both sisters jolted upright immediately, only to be met with the sight of Edward Cullen leaning against the truck with Emmett beside him.

Lori blanched. She hadn’t been near Edward ever since the van incident.

“How do you do that?!”

“Do what?” Edward was the picture of innocence, if not for the smug minuscule curl of his lips at the corner.

“That.” Bella grumbled as she took the key he held out to her. “You keep appearing out of thin air.”

“Bella, I can’t help it if you’re exceptionally unobservant.”

She bristled at his patronizing tone and the two quickly devolved into what was somehow becoming their norm; a quarrel. Meanwhile, Lori couldn’t even remove her gaze from the ground. She was stuck in a dilemma, pondering over whether it would be too rude but she was really itching to leave.

He was still there; she could see his shoes in front of her. Resigning herself to face him, and cursing her upbringing for her manners, she gave him a curt nod. “Cullen.”

“Hey, munchkin.” Emmett murmured when she looked up. His smile faltered when Lori’s expression remained indifferent and she started off in the direction of the school building without another word. It was a speedy escape, but he didn’t need to know that. Her manners were satisfied enough with the greeting for her to leave.

“Hey! No, wait!” He strode up beside her. “I just want to talk.”

“I don’t want to talk.”

“Then listen!” Emmett grabbed her arm, bringing her to a stop. “Just listen to me.”

“Why? Just what do you want? Why are you suddenly talking to me again?”

 “I want to explain.” He pleaded, his amber eyes sincere and guilty. “Let me explain.”

“I don’t need it. I want nothing to do with you or your family any longer.” He was really wearing her down. His attitude was making it infuriatingly difficult to reject but she had to.

“ _Please_ , Lori. I need you to listen to me.” His fingers were like stone around her. Her feeble tries at shaking off his firm grip went ignored. She realized he wouldn’t be releasing her without some sort of promise from her.

“Fine!” She narrowed her eyes, hating the fact that she couldn’t resist crumbling in front of him especially when he was being so earnest and desperate. “Five minutes, no more. After school. Now, will you let go of me?”

“Yeah, sure.” His words differed from his actions. Instead of readily releasing her like his words suggested, his fingers lingered, brushing down her arm. It was as though he was saying he didn’t want to let go of her. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

The contact coupled with the intense look in his eyes gave her chills. It suddenly felt so intimate and the air between them sparked. Goose bumps raised on her skin under her sleeves where his fingers trailed. “Whatever.” She mumbled, giving him one last glance before hurrying away from him into the building.

* * *

 

“What did you just do?” Lauren’s voice was dangerous.

“What?” Lori plastered the wide doe-eyed innocent look on her face. “Oh no, by all means, please. Keep talking. I always yawn when I’m interested.”

Lori was annoyed enough to lose the filter for her brain-to-mouth connection. She had been told someone wanted to meet her and thought it was Emmett trying to meet her during lunch instead of after school as they agreed to. Some girls had grabbed her as she was walking down the hallway, pulling her into this restroom that was in an less-crowded section of the school. They had unceremoniously dumped her onto the floor the moment they arrived, scraping her palms and knees. It was a bad day to wear a skirt; her tights were torn now.

Surprisingly though, Lori didn’t see Jessica anywhere. There was only Lauren, and a few of her sidekicks. She’d thought the two of them were best buds.

“You’ve been a real bitch lately, you know.”

“You’re one to talk. Have you looked in the mirror lately?” Lori scoffed. She was hungry, and a hungry man is a crabby man.

“I think you need to learn your place.”

“Oh, I know it well. It’s above you.” Lori flashed her a rude gesture. “All the boys are trying to get me to ask them to the dance. They’ve switched from you to me. You’re threatened, is that it?”

“They’re just asking you because you’re the new toy.” Lauren gave a derisive laugh. She cast a pitiful look at Lori. “You can’t possibly believe that they actually like you, do you?”

“Then, what _is_ this about?” Lori didn’t really care about what Lauren wanted; her words were sinking in just enough for her to form retorts. Her stomach was the more important issue at this moment.

Lauren snorted, a glint of condescension in her eyes. She stalked forward, drawing herself to her full height as an intimidation factor. With each step Lauren took, she shoved at Lori’s shoulder roughly, until Lori was backed into the wall.

Lori struggled to hide her wince. Lauren definitely had more strength to her than it looked. Unfortunately, Lori was just as weak as her physique suggested. She couldn’t hold her stance against Lauren’s consecutive strikes. Bruises were certain to appear after this.

“Poor little new girl.” She cooed patronizingly, twirling a lock of Lori’s hair around her finger. “You don’t know, do you? The Cullens never liked you, nobody likes you that much, it’s all just pity for the new girl. They’ve abandoned you. They don’t even look at you now, do they?”

Lori figured there was a little lag in their information gathering. After all, Emmett _had_ approached her this morning. Eyeing the girls in front of her, she was starting to get annoyed at their pathetic behaviour. Bullies were all the same; trying to push down people they didn’t like or felt endangered by.

“You’re just a loser now!” One of the other girls tittered. “Maybe they finally realised what a freak you were.”

Lori’s fists clenched. She was only slightly bothered by their words – she knew that whatever they said shouldn’t be taken seriously but the insults were designed to hurt – and this situation was starting to bring up memories. Bitter memories that were shoved deep down inside. It was almost like before. The ugly feelings welling up in her; anger and humiliation. And the things that these ugly feelings led to.. She never wanted it to happen again.

_“She’s a freak! Everyone, stay away from her!”_

Shame.

_“You shouldn’t have been born!”_

Worthlessness.

Lori had to control herself. If she lost control now..

“She’s not even talking back anymore.” Someone sneered. “Because you know it’s true, right?”

_CRACK._

One of the mirrors above the sinks broke, the loud sound echoing in the restroom, large black fissures spreading over the glass.

Lori breathed heavily, nails digging into the flesh of her palm. She was staring hard at her feet, struggling to keep her power from lashing out. The pain was helping her to focus but panic was also rising up, threatening to engulf her. What if her power exploded? What if she killed someone? Horrible images of the imagined scenarios flashed through her mind.

It was getting difficult to breathe now. She felt like she couldn’t get enough air.

All she could do was focus on was the mantra she was chanting in her head, doing her best to tune out Lauren and the others.

Keep calm. Don’t lose control. Calm. Control. _Calm. Control._

She couldn’t lose control here. She just couldn’t. She _can’t_ cause trouble for Bella and Charlie, not like she did for Renee. She had to protect them.

Also, regardless of her feelings towards Lauren, she was just a girl, uninvolved with the unordinary. Lori wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she harmed her accidentally. She _cannot_ be exposed either. They weren’t children anymore, when adults would pass it off as tales of their overactive imagination. Maybe now she’d get hauled off to a secret experimentation facility or a mental hospital.

“What the-?” The girls stared at the cracked mirror, slightly spooked. Every school was bound to have their own ghost stories floating around and at Forks High, most of them were concerning the toilets.

“Look,” Lauren fisted Lori’s hair, yanking her head up to look at her. Lauren grinned at the hiss of pain Lori let escape through gritted teeth, leaning down to whisper menacingly in her ear. “Don’t overstep your boundaries. You’re just the new girl. Keep your head down.”

A light bulb burst, shattered glass raining down onto the floor. Lauren’s cronies shrieked in surprise.

“Lauren, let’s just go. It’s creepy.” One of them whimpered, huddling close to the other girls.

“Alright, fine.” Lauren patted Lori’s cheeks hard, looking down her nose at her, a cruel smile on her lips. The smacking sound of her hand against Lori’s cheek rang sharp and clear. Her long fingernails scraped four bloody lines down Lori’s left cheek. “Bye for now, new girl. Here’s a souvenir.”

The girls filed out after Lauren, casting dubious looks at the mirror and light as they went. There was a click after the door closed; it was locked from the outside. Finally safe to relax, Lori slumped down onto the floor. She shakily opened her fists, there were four little bleeding crescent marks embedded in the palm of each hand. Her cheek stung too, as the tears started to spill over and seeped into the cuts.

She leant her head back on the wall, avoiding the sore spot where Lauren pulled her hair. She didn’t care how dirty or grimy it was to be on the floor of a toilet. She was tired, so _tired_.

Why was it happening again?

Why wasn’t she born normal?

Why was it that her nightmares and her reality were starting to look like they were one and the same?


End file.
